


I've always liked you

by Cherrypie62666



Series: Random unfitting one shots and stories [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff, Best Friends, Bets & Wagers, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Friendly Wars, Innocent, Love Triangles, M/M, Negates The Trials Of Apollo, Nico is a Dork, Post-The Blood of Olympus, Secret Crush, Sleepovers, Sweet, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Warm fluff, Why Did I Write This?, Will Is A Wiggly Little Ball Of Light, pillow forts, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-13 03:17:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9104329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherrypie62666/pseuds/Cherrypie62666
Summary: “Yeah, we should turn in. I can take the couch if you’d like. We didn’t really plan that far ahead.”Nico shook his head, determined to make things seem perfectly normal; just two best friends, hanging out, having a sleepover. “Nonsense. I have sleeping bags, we’re staying in the fort.”Will’s expression brightened, a grin spreading across his face. “So it’s a true campout, then. I like the way you think, di Angelo.”Nico beamed back, glad the tension was suddenly gone. Jumping from his seat, he ran and grabbed the two sleeping bags he had stashed in the corner of the room, borrowed for the night from the Hypnos cabin. They sure liked to sleep, even on the floor. He rolled them out, placing a bunch of pillows at the end. Biting his lip, he wondered how weird it would be sleeping so close together.





	1. Pillow forts and sleepovers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amxlia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amxlia/gifts).



> Okay, I was like 98% sure lucithemorningstar15 asked for this one, but if you didn't, then oops. Hope you like it anyway :D :D :D  
> So long. I just wrote and wrote, no clear path, just winging it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited for clarity.

He ran into his cabin, followed closely behind by his friend Will. The two leaned against the doorway, breathing hard and fast. They made eye contact and simultaneously burst into a fit of laughter, grabbing their stomachs and sliding down onto the floor.

“Do you think she’ll figure it out?” He mumbled, biting his lip to suppress a new wave of giggles.

“Lou Ellen? Nah, she’ll never suspect a thing.” Will grinned at him, rolling onto his hands and knees and slinking underneath the window frame. He crouched low, then peered just over the ledge to catch a glimpse of something. “Ha, she’s not even coming this way. Come see.”

Nico obliged, scurrying over to pop his head up next to Will’s. Sure enough, Lou Ellen was marching straight towards the Hermes cabin, hands balled into fists, red paint dripping a trail as she went. The two fell back in another fit of giggles, clasping hands over their mouths to avoid detection. “Oh man, I can’t believe we finally got her, and pinned it on Cecil, no less.”

Will smirked. “Serves them right, always pranking everyone else, but especially for pranking us yesterday. It’s time they turned their sights on each other, keep them busy for a couple of days at least.”

“You don’t think Cecil will convince her someone else is to blame?” Nico asked, rolling onto his side and propping himself up with his elbow.

Will followed suit, the two friends suddenly face to face. “Please, as if Lou will listen to him. She’ll just think he’s trying to save his ass, and by the time she finally gets him back, he’ll forget anyone else was ever to blame. He’s got the attention span of a gnat, though don’t tell him I said that.” The light flush of Will’s cheeks and close proximity of his body made Nico’s stomach flutter strangely. Biting his lip, he sat up, just slightly further away.

“Well, you do know them better than I do.”

Will beamed at him, then rose to his feet, offering down a hand to help Nico up. He took it, letting the other pull him to his feet. “Don’t worry so much. No one saw us, and no one will suspect. We’re the absolute last people anyone will think pulled something like this off. Well, I guess you aren’t the last person, but I definitely am. I can get Kayla to vouch for us both, no problem. She owes me anyway.”

It took a moment for Nico to realize the other still held tight to his hand. He pulled it back as a sudden warmth spread across his cheeks. If Will noticed, he didn’t say anything, his eyes were already wandering around the cabin, a curious expression playing on his freckled face.

“Uh, Will?” He asked, watching the other scan the room approvingly.

“You know, di Angelo, I never thought much of it before, but you have this whole cabin to yourself.” Will turned to him then, eyes twinkling with something akin to mischief.

“Yeah… I do. I have for as long as I’ve known you. You’ve only hung out, what, eighty times?”

He waved his hand dismissively at Nico, scrunching up his nose. “I know that, but a thought came to me. We should all hang out here sometime, build a fort or something.”

Nico frowned. “You want to… build a fort. Isn’t that a little childish?”

Will looked at him aghast, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “You are never too old for a pillow fort, Nico. You’ll see. You, me, Cecil, Lou Ellen. It’ll be the best. And you don’t have annoying siblings like we all do, so we can hang out all night and tell creepy stories and… okay, we’re doing it tonight, I’m too stoked for this not to do it now.” He bounced up and down, humming happily.

“There’s just one, teeny, tiny thing you’ve forgotten, Solace.” Will ceased his happy wiggling, giving him an innocent look. The boy was too cute for his own good sometimes. “Lou Ellen is about to start an all out prank war with Cecil, which means they’re not going to be in the fort making, scary story telling kind of mood.”

“Oh, right. I forgot.” Pulling his lip between his teeth, he began chewing on it in thought. “Okay, so we’ll just tell Lou that Cecil didn’t do it, and pin the blame on someone else. Maybe she’ll be so angry, she won’t even confront them and just plot in secret.” Nico gave him an incredulous look and he sighed. “Ye of little faith. This prank could have Hephaestus cabin written all over it. We just gotta turn her head the right way, and Lou will strike.”

“Where are you going, Will?” Nico asked when the other shot off toward the door.

“Duh, Lou is about to kill Cecil. We need to mend their friendship and get them in here to start on the preparation. Are you coming, or what?”

Nico let out a low groan and followed behind him, taking care to close the cabin door. They raced up the path to the Hermes cabin, just in time to see Cecil fleeing Lou Ellen’s wrath, heading toward the strawberry fields. Will ran up to his friend and tried to defuse the situation, but she side stepped him and continued on her war path, green eyes glowing with rage. Nico had never been afraid of the girl in his life, but suddenly, he regretted ever messing with her. Even if she never found out it was him, it was a good lesson in who not to piss off.

“Woah, easy there, Lou. What’s up, talk to me.”

She gave Will a sidelong glance and snarled, pointing her finger toward the retreating backside of their other friend. “That… imbecile has the gall to prank me… ME! And then refuse to own up to it. I’m going to murder him.”

“Care to elaborate a little more? What did he even do? Maybe it wasn’t him?”

She narrowed her eyes menacingly, but Will met her with such a warm, calming look, that she faltered and sighed. “It was actually pretty genius,” Lou muttered, recanting the whole tale to a wide eyed Will. Even when she mimed the complex system and step by step detail of how they put together their little trap, he only gasped and shivered and managed to look thoroughly impressed. “And then I sat down on the bench and it was covered, literally soaked in wet paint, in case you didn’t notice, my back is drippy and terrible. If I wasn’t so mad, I’d actually applaud the little weasel.”

Will tapped a finger to his chin, narrowing his eyes in thought. “You know, Lou, no offense to Cecil, but I’m pretty sure he’d never think of something that complex. He seems like the kind to hit hard and fast, am I right?”

Lou Ellen bobbed her head, pursing her lips. “That thought did cross my mind as it was happening. I was like, woah, Cecil is stepping up his game, especially when my doughnut turned into a miniature bomb and exploded jelly all over the place.” Nico bit his lip to keep from giggling. The doughnut was his idea, and the look on Lou’s face when it exploded? Priceless. “I was like, wow, he’s never this good. But if it wasn’t him, who could it have been?”

“Sounds like something the Hephaestus cabin would think up. Don’t you guys prank each other all of the time?”

She frowned, clearly taking the bait. “Well, yeah, we do, but some of the things that happened… it’s like someone is spying on me, figuring out my ingenious plans. That’s why I figured it was Cecil. I haven’t told anyone my plans, even hinted at them, except for with him. Well, and you and Nico, but no offense, you two would never pull off a prank, especially you, Will.”

“Maybe they’re using little robot spies that report back everything you think is secret.” It was so ridiculous, Nico was sure it would never work, but Lou narrowed her eyes again and glared at the Hephaestus cabin, so it clearly did.

“Those little shits. I’m going to get them back so bad, they’ll never know what hit them. Thanks, Will, I was going to pulverize Cecil, but now I have another brain to think of the perfect revenge.” She smiled evilly and cackled, looking just like a crazy witch.

“Glad to be of some help. Now, you, Cecil, Nico’s cabin, we’re going to build a fort tonight and tell creepy stories and it’ll be the best. Stop by after the bonfire, unless you want to skip it and get straight to the festivities.” Will rubbed his hands together and Lou laughed.

“I’ll talk to Cecil. If I can catch him. That boy is fast. Let you know after dinner, see ya.” Then she was off, skipping happily down the road, backside red down the length of her torso and bottom.

Will came over to him and lazily dropped an arm around his shoulder, watching Lou leave with a grin. “Told you it’d work. Nothing to fear.”

Nico rolled his eyes and sighed, pretending the butterflies in his stomach were only from anticipation.

 

* * *

 By the time they’d set everything up, snuck in the junk food, and borrowed a couple of flashlights, it was well past curfew. Chiron might have minded that all four of them were hanging out so late without asking him first, but Lou Ellen and Cecil decided not staying the whole night would somehow make up for it. As if sneaking back to their cabins in the dead of night, avoiding the Harpies, or accidentally getting attacked by them, was really preferable to harmless sleeping. At least the four of them together would raise far less eyebrows than only Will and Nico, but he pushed the thought from his mind, telling himself that so long as one person was straight, it really, honestly didn’t matter.

They sat around a makeshift ‘campfire’, really just two flashlight pointed upward, and wiggled excitedly. Their little fort took the better part of an hour to create, and they had to borrow a little rope to get it to hang higher than two feet off the ground, but it was so absolutely perfect, he might even leave the thing up for a while. You never know when a fort might come in handy.

“Who wants to go first?” Lou Ellen asked, dropping her voice to a creepy whisper. Cecil yelped, making her laugh outright. “We haven’t even told any creepy stories yet, and you’re already pissing yourself.”

“You’re just so terrifying, Lou, I really don’t know how everyone doesn’t run in fear when they see you.”

Lou batted her eyelashes at him and smiled. “Flatterer,” she cooed, and he snorted.

“I have one,” Will said, bouncing excitedly.

“Not the one about the claw handed dude, right? Pretty sure we’ve all heard that one like fifty times.” When Will pouted, it was obvious Lou was right. “Fine, I’ll set the mood. On a night, just like this one, in a camp, much like our own, four kids sat around a campfire, innocently toasting marshmallows. Little did they know, the site of their camp was also the site of a grisly murder, involving a young girl and her boyfriend; and that that same night, it was the anniversary of when they were gutted and hanged by their entrails in those very trees.”

“Gross, Lou, do you have to be so detailed?” Will wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Lou rolled her eyes. “Yes, dummy, it’s setting the mood.”

“To make us all barf, maybe,” he muttered, but she ignored him, clearing her throat.

“Anyway, there they were, minding their own business, when they heard a scratching sound nearby. No one thought anything of it, just went about their business, until they heard a wailing sound off in the distance. Closer it got, closer, closer, the sound turning their blood to ice. The small group, finally having enough, ran back into their cabins and locked the doors. That night, a terrible storm beat the tree branches into the cabins, scraping the windows and casting ominous shadows onto their faces. They all closed their eyes, ignoring the fact that just below the sound of the storm, a desperate wailing could still be heard.” She paused so long Cecil poked her knee.

“Then what happened, Lou?”

She smirked, the flashlights casting creepy shadows up her face, almost like tree branches. “Well, in the morning, the kids all met up, laughing about their little fright, making fun of each other for getting scared. Another camper overheard and told them the gruesome story, leaving nothing out. They brushed it off, but later that day, they found a single bloody handprint by each of their respective beds, and come the following morning, no one ever saw any of those four kids again. If you listen closely, whenever the winds wail, you can hear their screams echoing along the rooftops.”

Cecil screamed like a little girl, causing all of them to jump. Will smacked him in the leg and he grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, just trying to freak everyone out.”

Lou rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, you’ll make us go deaf before you ever scare anyone that way, dork.” Cecil snorted in response.

They took turns telling creepy tales, trying to one up the other which each new try. After a while, it was evident that everyone was jumpy and spooked, glancing around nervously and twitching at each sound.

When they could take no more of it, Cecil slapped his hand down on his knee, hard enough to get their attention. “Alright, enough of this creepy stuff, let’s all play a game so when we do go to sleep later, I won’t be convinced someone is outside waiting to gut me. Any ideas?” They all shrugged, and Cecil sighed. “Fine, let’s play truth or dare, that’s an easy one.”

Will shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I don’t know about you, Cecil, but that sounds like it’ll go south real fast. Three guys, one girl. That’s just asking for a bunch of trouble.” Lou nodded as Will spoke, suddenly wide eyed.

“Okay, no kissing dares. Because, sorry, Lou, no one wants to kiss you.” She smacked him good and he grinned.

“I don’t know,” Will murmured, still not convinced.

“Come on, Will. The dares can be harmless, and they don’t even need to happen tonight. If you chicken out, though, you owe the dare giver one drachma, and you can only complete the dare in front of them or someone that can vouch for you. If you’re too scared, pick truth.”

Will narrowed his eyes at the other, and huffed. “Fine, you first, Cecil, truth or dare.”

“Dare, duh,” he grinned, eyes bright.

“Dare you to ask out Drew tomorrow in front of her whole cabin.” Will smirked when Cecil’s face dropped.

“Dude. She’s going to murder me for embarrassing her.”

“Pay me a drachma if you’d rather chicken out.”

Cecil groaned. The boy would rather die than chicken out. “Fine. You’re on, Solace. Now it’s my turn. Truth or dare.”

“Shouldn’t you ask someone that isn’t me?” He asked, skeptically.

“Too late, pick one.”

“Truth,” he mumbled, sinking down into himself like he wanted to disappear. Nico shot Lou a curious glance, and she covered her mouth, eyes wide.

“Is it true you’ve been harboring a secret crush on someone for, oh, I don’t know, like a year now?”

Will spluttered indignantly. “Dare then,” he finally growled. Cecil grinned, like he knew that would happen.

“Dare you to finally ask that person out. I don’t even need to be there, I have my ways of knowing whether or not it happens.” Lou whooped appreciatively and Will turned bright red. The three shared many different looks, like they were conversing silently, so Nico cleared his throat.

“Yeah yeah, your turn, Nico,” Lou Ellen said with a grin. “Truth or dare.”

He thought for a moment, unsure of which would be worse. “Truth,” he finally decided, hoping he, too, would get a dare cop out should he need it.

Lou picked idly at something on her knee. When she finally spoke, her voice was nonchalant. “Do you have anyone you’re crushing on? Don't even need to say who, cause I didn’t ask, just a simple yes or no will suffice.”

“Uh…” he glanced at Cecil, determined not to look anywhere near the third, lest his face give it away. Sure, he found certain people attractive, but he wasn’t positive if you could call it a crush. Besides, it wouldn’t matter even if he did kind of, sort of, maybe occasionally wonder what it would be like to kiss a certain someone. Cecil was brimming with curiosity, shooting sidelong glances at Will, though he wasn’t sure why. He swallowed hard. “Yeah, I guess so. Maybe a little.”

Lou smiled at him reassuringly. “Okay, your turn, Nico, pick someone.”

Suddenly, he regretted agreeing to have anyone come over. He couldn’t even think of anything to ask or dare someone to do. “Uh, truth or dare, Lou,” he finally mumbled, halfhearted.

“Let’s see. I think truth is a safe one for you, di Angelo.”

He shifted in his seat, chewing his lip in thought. “Do you like Cecil, or is the tension between you two something else?” Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open, clearly surprised.

“Oh, good one! Yes, tell us, inquiring minds would like to know.” Cecil wiggled his brows at her and she groaned, kicking him.

“You have your moments, but you’re still you, Cecil, so I’d be lying no matter what I said. Undecided, take it or leave it.” Even Will smirked in response, the color finally leaving his cheeks. “And with that, my little dumplings, I’m off. The Harpies are less scary than another round with you three. Come on, Cecil, be a man and protect little old me.”

“It’d be my pleasure, m’lady. Will, Nico. Have a good rest of your night.” The two left arm in arm, whispering furiously as they went.

Nico stared awkwardly after they’d gone, afraid to face Will, just in case he’d notice the tension. When he finally chanced a glance back, Will was looking intently at his shoes. “It's pretty late,” he mumbled, not wanting to seem like hanging out all by themselves was in any way weird for him. They’d done it quite a bit in the last year, working their way from awkward friends, to really, really good ones. They even had inside jokes with each other. Hell, they'd pranked Lou Ellen that very day. Will was probably the best friend he’d ever had. A silly, kind of crush would never put a damper on that. Unless, Will found out and freaked. He pushed the thought from his head and smiled.

“Yeah, we should turn in. I can take the couch, if you’d like. We didn’t really plan that far ahead.”

Nico shook his head, determined to make things seem perfectly normal, just two best friends, hanging out, having a sleepover. “Nonsense. I have sleeping bags, we’re staying in the fort.”

Will’s expression brightened, a grin spreading across his face. “So it’s a true campout, then. I like the way you think, di Angelo.”

Nico beamed back, glad the tension was suddenly gone. Jumping from his seat, he ran and grabbed the two sleeping bags he had stashed in the corner of the room, borrowed for the night from the Hypnos cabin. They sure liked to sleep, even on the floor. He rolled them out, placing a bunch of pillows at the end. Biting his lip, he wondered how weird it would be, sleeping so close together.

“Is this okay?” He asked, trying to keep his voice light, unaffected. Will nodded, pulling off his shoes, then climbing beneath one of them. His contented sigh said it was nicer than it looked. “That good, huh?”

Will hummed happily. “These feel like I’m laying on a cloud of fluffy magic. Did you get these from Clovis? That dude has everything awesome.”

Nico removed his shoes and slipped beneath his own, marveling at just how right the fluffy cloud statement was. Even the thought that he normally slept in a lot less clothes couldn’t damped the softness of his sleeping bag. “You’re not kidding, I think I might ask to keep these. You know, in case there’s another random sleepover brewing in that head of yours.” Will was quiet for a beat, and he wondered if he’d said something wrong.

“Just fair warning, I like to cuddle in my sleep. If the chance you might wake up with me stuck to you makes you at all uncomfortable, you might want to move a few feet out of reach. I also roll quite a bit, so, better safe than sorry.”

Nico blushed, hard pressed to admit he'd actually quite enjoy himself if he did wake up that way. Instead he shrugged, keeping his voice emotionless. “I’m not too worried about it, if you’re not. It’s not like you don’t already use me as an arm rest on a daily basis.”

Will laughed, the sound light and bubbly. “Fair point, I’m always a little too touchy. Sorry about that.”

Nico laughed himself. “That’s alright, I’m used to it by now. Doesn’t bother me any.” Will hummed, shifting deeper into the sleeping bag. He chewed his lip some, not wanting to stop talking just yet. “So. Who do you have to ask out under your little dare? Are you going to go through with it?”

Will stiffened and he hoped his voice wasn’t super jealous or weird. “I’m… not sure yet," he finally mumbled. "I haven’t decided. He said we would have time to do the dare later, so I’ll think about it.”

Nico nodded, trying to sound like a good friend. “You should, I'm sure she’ll say yes.”

“Who said it’s a girl,” he muttered and Nico frowned, not quite sure he heard right.

“If it’s not a girl… oh. Oh! Sorry, I… I didn’t know…” he really didn’t. Will never came across as liking boys, not that Nico even knew what to look for.

“I don’t really care or think about gender like that, to be honest. I always thought I liked girls until one day I… didn’t? It’s hard to explain. Sorry. I’m making you uncomfortable. No, really, I’ll shut up now. And I totally understand if you retract your previous statement and move far, far away from me.”

“Don't worry, Will, I’m not judging, and I retract zero statements. I’m fine with it, I promise.” Perhaps more than fine. Giddy, even. He didn’t say that.

“Really? Are you sure? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

Nico shook his head, butterflies filling his stomach. Admittance of his sexuality didn’t necessarily mean he was admitting his feelings. Releasing a long, slow breath of air, he found the courage. “I do, too. Like… boys. As well.”

Will sat up, looking down at him, eyes slightly wide. “Oh! Oh. I thought… so is it true that you, you know, told Percy Jackson he wasn’t your type? I thought that was just Lou making stuff up, you two act all normal whenever you're together.” Will began to chuckle nervously and Nico internally groaned.

“Yeah, I did… do that. Last year.”

“So you had a crush on Percy? Man, that’s rough. I mean, I get it, he’s cute, I think most straight men would develop a tiny crush on him. But, yeah, Annabeth and whatever. Can’t have been easy. Sorry. None of my business. I’ll shut up now.” He laid back down, flopping onto the pillows and covering his face with his hands. Nico had come to terms with his unrequited feelings a long time ago, so he only felt a little bit awkward, mostly because Will even knew about the crush. “But he’s not, right? Your type.” The muffled sound made Nico chuckle.

“Nope, too… I don’t know. It was mainly hero worship.”

Will nodded, peeking through his fingers. “What is your type, then? I mean, if Percy Jackson isn’t it, you must have high standards.”

“Not really, I’m just a little more particular, that’s all.” Calling it a type wasn’t really the correct term. More like compatibility.

There was a long silence before Will cleared his throat. “Nico? I…” he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “If I told you something, and it didn’t go over well, would it… ruin things?”

“I don’t think so, no,” he said, frowning up at the blanket ceiling. “I’m your friend, that’s not going to change.”

“Okay. Well, you see… the thing is… it’s… you. I’ve always liked… you.”

“Oh,” he squeaked, not expecting that to be the thing. He tried to think of something else to say, but all that came out was “yeah.”

“So, totally awkward now?” Will’s voice sounded hurt, and it snapped him out of his stupor.

“Oh, gods no, Will. Never. You just… surprised me. I didn’t expect things to be… reciprocated?”

“Oh, wow, you too, huh? Damn, mind if I ask how long? Just kind of want to kick myself for not saying anything sooner.”

Nico laughed, feeling the awkwardness melt away. That was Will, soothing and silly and sweet. “Same as you, about a year.”

“Hey, that’s okay, now I know for sure I like you. Got that whole weird part out of the way already.” He blushed, still reeling from the fact Will had said it twice in a row, so it wasn’t just his imagination. “Can I… hold your hand, maybe? If that’s not weird.” Nico rolled onto his side, and Will followed suit, finding them close, but not too close. He held out his hand and Will took it, lacing their fingers and resting them between their heads on the pillow. Warm breath tickled his palm, and his other arm was cramping, but he smiled and Will smiled back. “Goodnight, Nico,” he murmured, closing his eyes and sighing contentedly.

“Goodnight, Will,” he breathed back, feeling a soft, sleepy feeling wash over him. Closing his eyes, he smiled once more.

“Now the cuddling thing will be a pleasant surprise,” Will mumbled, voice already thick with sleep.

Nico laughed, snuggling ever so slightly closer. “It always would have been.”


	2. This means war

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico can't fathom why it's so deliciously warm, but he doesn't want it to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray, I wrote this days and days ago, finally decided to just post the shit.  
> I will be exploring other POVS as well, but this is still Nico.

It was the unbelievable warmth on his back that finally roused him from his sleep. Inside the fort was still nice and dim, though a few stray rays of sunlight found their way through the cracks, alerting him that it was, in fact, morning. In those few moments of bleary eyed wakefulness, he completely forgot the previous night’s confessions, so it came as quite the shock once he realized that the thing pinning him down was not a blanket, but in fact his friend clinging to him like a scared child. A blush rose to his cheeks and he attempted to squirm out of the other’s death grip, only managing to roll onto his back, and make Will cling even harder. The boy was stronger than he looked, that’s for sure.

“Wait, five more minutes,” Will mumbled, burying his face into Nico’s neck.

Warm breath tickled his skin, causing goose flesh to erupt down his arms and torso. With his brain fully awakened, the late night conversation trickled into his consciousness, reminding him that the situation was only slightly less awkward than he’d first imagined. Unsure of what to do next, he laid there, stock-still, staring up at the blanket ceiling, waiting.

Will hummed a happy little sigh, nuzzling their faces closer. From the corner of his eye, he could see the tip of Will’s nose and the curve of his lips, slightly parted, breathing out light, little puffs of air. His pulse quickened, mouth suddenly going dry. Their faces were never so close that they could almost kiss. All he’d have to do is turn his own and lean in, just an inch or so, and they’d touch. In a panic, he did the only thing he could think of.

“Will, someone’s hurt, come quick,” he squeaked, voice rising a few octaves more than was normal. Will’s eyes snapped open and he pulled back, just enough to allow Nico further brain function. “Sorry,” he said quietly, when Will looked around confused.

“S’morning already?” Will asked, voice thick with sleep.

Nico nodded stiffly, worrying his lip between his teeth. Sleepy Will was far too cute to stop the blush from heating up his cheeks. “Yeah, sorry, you were getting pretty close there and I… panicked.”

Will grinned back at him, humming in amusement. “I told you I’m a cuddle-bug. I’ll attach to anything if its warm or soft. You’re a little of both, so it’s extra tempting.” He released Nico’s waist and scooted back just enough so as not to be overstepping.  
  
Nico didn’t realize how much warmth the other gave off, until it was missing. He rolled onto his side so they could be face to face once more. “That’s alright, it wasn’t your body, it was your face. Your mouth, actually.” His eyes wandered as he spoke, afraid of landing in the wrong place and staring longingly.

Will’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, before returning to their usual place. A slight smile pulled at his lips. “Oh, that makes sense. Well I’m not a sleep kisser, so you would have been safe,” he teased, poking Nico’s nose playfully.

“It wasn’t you I was worried about,” Nico mumbled, deciding the other’s hairline was probably the safest place to look.

Will beamed at him, dropping his voice to a low murmur. “I wouldn’t have minded. There are worse ways to wake up.”

Nico’s gaze flicked down to the other’s lips, then back up to his deep, blue eyes. Will’s face was flushed, like the idea was just as foreign and unfamiliar to him as it was to Nico. “Is that so,” he mumbled, cocking a brow and smiling back, in what he hoped was a semi-seductive manner.

Will’s smile crumbled and he blinked a few times before pulling his sleeping bag up to cover his face. “Please stop looking at me like that, I can’t handle it,” he whined, the sound muffled by the cloth. Nico laughed, full, stomach aching laughs, causing Will to peek his eye out and frown. “Mean,” he muttered.

Nico grinned wickedly. “You started it. Don’t start things you can’t finish.” Propping himself up onto his elbow, he gently tugged the fabric from the other’s face. Beneath, Will was pouting, cheeks bright red, eyes looking right at the ceiling. “Will,” he cooed, until the blue gaze drifted to his dark one. “You’re cute when you’re all blushy,” he murmured, and Will spluttered indignantly, causing Nico to laugh some more.

Will narrowed his eyes menacingly. “Alright, di Angelo, that’s it," he hissed. "Should have taken your own advice and quit while you were ahead.”

Nico blinked at him, laughter dying in his throat. “What do you mean, Solace?”

Will only grinned, sitting up so fast that it caught Nico by surprise, making him tumble over onto his backside. Slowly, gently, Will bent down over him, eyes flicking to Nico’s mouth, then back up again, pulling his lip between his teeth. Nico froze, eyes widening slightly, heart starting to race. Blood roared in his ears, his breath coming out in swift, little puffs.

Will's breath mingled with Nico's, lips slightly parting as they came closer.  A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he titled his head to the side, slipping down toward Nico's ear. “This means war,” he purred, then made a loud kissing sound right against it, causing Nico to yelp.

“Hey, what in Hades name was that for?” Nico grumbled, using his finger to try and making the ringing stop.

Will cackled evilly, rising to his feet and stretching. The top of the blanket grazed his head lightly, flattening his hair. “Don’t start things you can’t finish, di Angelo,” he mocked, attempting a bad Italian accent.

“I don’t even sound close to that!” Nico wailed, scrambling to his own feet.

Will grabbed his shoes and raced away laughing, throwing open the makeshift door. Nico pursued him, forgoing his own shoes in the hopes he might be faster without the added weight. The sunlight beyond the dark little cabin gave him pause, and he rubbed his eyes to stop the sting. When his eyes adjusted, he caught sight of Will, hopping around, trying to slip his shoe onto his foot.

Nico took the momentary distraction and shot off the porch like a bullet, making a beeline straight for him. Will yelped and half ran, half hopped away, but Nico was faster. He bent at the waist and braced himself for impact, knocking them both down into the grass. Will groaned in pain but Nico was already up, straddling his back and pinning him down. He cackled, sliding his fingers down into Will’s armpits and wiggling them around. The other gasped and struggled, hating to be tickled.

When Nico was satisfied with the punishment, he bent down and made the same, obnoxious noise in Will’s ear. “Now we’re even,” he cooed after, rolling off of him and laying back in the grass.

Will peered over at him, face red and stained with green splotches. “Not even close,” he panted.

The sight of him laying there huffing took Nico’s mind places he didn’t want it to go. Biting his lip, he stared up into the clouds, desperate for a distraction, anything to keep his cheeks from burning.

It came in the form of Lou Ellen peering down at him. “Well, you two sure look cozy,” she mused, eyes bright with amusement. “Better hurry, breakfast is almost over. Wouldn’t want to miss it.”

Will scrambled to his feet, chucking a nice pile of grass right into Nico’s face. Nico coughed hard, spitting out the little pieces that got inside of his mouth. “See ya later, Death Boy,” he called over his shoulder as he raced toward the dining pavilion.

“Good night?” Lou asked, wiggling her brows at him.

Nico brushed little bits of grass from his face. “Oh, yeah, just the best,” he replied, sarcastically. “Now we’re in the middle of some war, I guess.”

She nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, Cecil and I get into those all of the time. Have fun with that, Nico.” Wriggling her fingers, she sauntered away, back toward the strawberry fields.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, then rose to his feet to go retrieve his shoes. Will was waiting at his table when he got there, most of the campers already finished and left. He eyed the other skeptically, noting the two plates filled with various breakfast items untouched in front of him. Giving in, he sat down next to Will, like he did most mornings.

Will smiled and pushed a plate toward him. “I didn’t want you to miss the most important meal of the day,” he cooed, face sweet and innocent.

Nico didn’t buy it for a second, switching their identical plates around. “I don’t trust you anymore, Solace, you’re a lot more devious than you look.”

Will clutched his chest dramatically and gasped. “Why, little old me,” he drawled, batting his eyelashes and raising his octave to attempt to sound like a southern belle.

Nico rolled his eyes. “Yes, you. I’ve seen just how deceptive you truly are. So you eat that plate and I’ll take this one.”

Will smirked. “What makes you think I wouldn’t think of that, and do something funny to my plate in the hopes you’d switch them around.”

Nico brought an apple up to his mouth and stopped, eyeing Will cooly. “You wouldn’t dare," he challenged. Will remained perfectly straight faced, so he shrugged and took a bite. Chewing it thoroughly, he smiled, then went wide eyed and clutched at his throat.

Will's eyes bugged out. “Oh gods, Nico, are you choking," he wailed, grabbing Nico by the shoulders, panic written on his face.

Nico snorted. “You’re too easy,” he teased, then took another bite. Juice dripped down his chin, but he ignored it.

Will caught it with his finger, then stuck it in his mouth. His eyes met Nico’s and he gave a low moan. The action made Nico actually choke on his bite, coughing hard and blushing furiously. “Now we’re even,” Will murmured, smiling wickedly.

Nico drew in a shuddering breath of air. “Hardly,” he wheezed, pounding his chest to help dislodge the apple pieces inside. “Are you trying to kill me for real?”

Will bit his lip and leaned in close. “Perhaps," he purred, warm breath sweet smelling as it tickled Nico's cheek.

Nico blushed even harder. “I hate you,” he groaned, covering his face with both hands.

Will nudged him playfully. “Something tells me it’s the exact opposite.”

Nico peeked between his fingers, watching the other as he smiled triumphantly. “I regret telling you already,” he muttered, and Will laughed. “Eat your breakfast already, Sunshine, I'm not waiting for you this time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> War, what is it good for?  
> Making boys blush furiously. :)


	3. Lou's advice and Cecil's predicament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lou Ellen helps Cecil in the love department.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meganameliarose, this is for you. :)
> 
> Two updates in one day? Lucky lucky.

Lou Ellen

Lou Ellen skipped down the path to the strawberry fields, humming quietly to herself. The sun was warm on her skin, making the littlest hints of sweat begin to bead her brow from the effort. Cecil had bet her five drachma that Will would chicken out on his dare, but from what she had seen, the two idiots were only days away from a full out love confession; if they hadn’t confessed already, that is.

She had found the two in the middle of some odd courting ritual, and figuring her presence wasn’t appreciated much, vamoosed. At the very least, they seemed closer than usual, and the prospect of Will finally getting his man, after a full year of listening to him whine about Nico this and Nico that, put an extra skip in her step. If only stupid Cecil would stop being so stupid, they could go on double dates. The thought made her snort hard. As if Cecil would ever grow up.

She rounded the corner of the big house, almost running right into the dork himself. Cecil looked panicky, wringing his hands and hopping from foot to foot. Lou grabbed hold of him by the shoulders and shook hard, hoping to knock some sense into him. “Cecil, buddy, talk to me. What’s got you so spooked?”

Cecil’s blue eyes widened as they locked on her’s, bottom lip disappearing between his teeth. “Lou, I’m freaking out. You have to help me. I saw Drew, and I was going to ask her out, but I tripped over my feet and spilled cereal all over her instead, and now she wants to murder me. Probably more so than if I had only asked her out in front of her whole cabin. I don’t know what to do.”

Lou snorted, shaking her head. It was exactly like Cecil to muck things up for himself just by existing. “Alright, you can still recover from this. Give her a bit to cool off, then find her later and say your nervousness around her makes your knees weak, or something equally lame, and she’ll forgive you no sweat. At the very least she’ll allow you to make a bigger fool of yourself, and then it’ll be less embarrassing for her when she turns you down flat.”

He pursed his lips, brow creasing slightly. “Are you sure that will work? I know you’re a girl, but Drew is like, a real girl.”

She shot him a death glare, folding her arms across her chest. “What exactly do you mean by a real girl. I’m a real girl, you idiot.”

Cecil rolled his eyes, waving his hand in her face dismissively. “Yeah, but you’re a cool girl, Drew is one of those prissy kind of girly girls. Do you really think she’ll accept that I’m so nervous my knees are weak?”

Lou scoffed. “You know absolutely nothing about women. They love it when men are all stupid mushy and admit their inferiority. This is why you couldn’t get a date to save your life.”

He bit his lip, titling his head to the side. “I don’t know about that, you did say I have my moments, so clearly you would date me,” he murmured, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and grinning.

“In your dreams, Cecil, I’ve clearly regained whatever my brain lost to make my mouth utter those words. They say sleep deprivation makes people do strange things.”

He sighed heavily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “You’re right, Lou. I’m a complete lost cause. I don’t know why I’d ever think someone like you could want some idiot like me. It’s just, sometimes I get so entranced by your beauty, I act without thinking, and say stupid things.”

Lou deadpanned, smacking his arm off and stepping out of reach. “You can’t use the thing I just told you to use on me, I’m smarter than that, Cecil. This,” she pointed so close to his face his eyes crossed. “Right here is exactly why you’re hopeless.”

“What if I was being sincere,” Cecil sniffed.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head again. “You couldn’t be sincere if your life depended on it. I know you too well, remember? Your brain doesn't operate that way. Try it on someone who doesn’t know you.”

Cecil shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You’re right, per usual. Besides, you’re not one of those kinds of girls, anyway, you’re much better. I’d be a little surprised if you did fall for something so silly and corny.” He grinned, nudging her with his elbow. “I’ll catch you later, thanks for the advice. I’ll try it out and let you know how it goes. See you, Lou Lou.”

She watched him go, biting her lip and heaving a sigh. That was Cecil, completely oblivious, utterly stupid, with tiny little moments here and there that made her heart pitter patter in her chest, and her knees go wobbly. Then he’d say or do something idiotic, and her brain would regain sanity, questioning herself for ever wondering what it’d be like to be more than friends. Shaking her head, she continued off toward the strawberry fields.

* * *

 

Cecil 

Cecil hid in the Pegasus stables for most of the day, knowing the Aphrodite cabin couldn’t be bothered to come near the things unless they were forced. According to them, it smelled like poop and horse, which, was obviously the case when you had a stable full of multiple animals. He’d offered to help clean up, so the Demeter cabin refrained from snitching on him, giving him ample time to think up a plan.

By dinner, he was so sweaty and tired, he forgot his terror, popping into the Hermes cabin to take a cold shower and change his clothes. The little drops of ice felt so soothing on his sore muscles, he stood under the shower head for an extra five minutes, letting the water wash his exhaustion away completely. Then he threw on the usual attire, and raced off to get some much needed food.

A clearing of the throat behind him made him turn around, staring down into the angry, dark eyes of Drew Tanaka. Her hands were on her hips, full lips pursed, brow creased. She tapped her foot, waiting for something, before rolling her eyes and scoffing. “What the Hell, Cecil, are you not even going to apologize for totally ruining my entire outfit after your little spazz attack?”

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing a hand idly across the back of his neck. “Hey, Drew, sorry about that. I guess I got nervous or something and my knees felt all wobbly and I panicked. I didn’t know what to say so I took off, but that wasn’t cool of me. So yeah, I’m sorry about that. What can I do to make it up to you?”

Drew cocked a perfectly arched brow, looking him up and down slowly. “For one, you can grovel. I’m not opposed to men getting on their knees to beg my forgiveness.”

Cecil blanched, glancing around nervously for some kind of escape. “Uh, is there anything else I can do that will count as groveling for forgiveness? Why don’t we walk and discuss this, I’m sure you’d prefer a bigger crowd once you decide my punishment.” He grinned in what he hoped was a charming manner.

She gave him another once over, pursing her lips again. “Very well. And what did you mean you got nervous, why were you nervous?” Her brown eyes narrowed slightly, like he couldn’t be trusted.

Mustering up all of the charm he had, he shrugged, casting a sideways glance while bitting his lip. “Well, you’re just so gorgeous, I can help but get flustered when I’m near you.”

A smile curled those thick lips, and she hummed in amusement. “I guess I can understand that, I do have a way with men. Alright, I will think of another punishment for you.”

The two fell into step, heading toward the dining pavilion. He caught sight of Will and Nico, heads bent close, talking about something. From the look of things, Will seemed relaxed, so he probably hadn’t mentioned his little crush yet, which meant he was probably going to chicken out. Cecil grinned to himself, he was about to be six drachmas richer.

“Why are you smiling like that,” Drew asked with a frown, eyes narrowing once more.

He glanced her way and shrugged. “Oh, I was just thinking about how pretty you are, that’s all.” He wanted to gag as the words slipped from his mouth, but thought better of it. Drew wouldn’t believe him if he did that.

She nodded in agreement, like she somehow understood. “I am the best looking girl at camp,” she mused.

Cecil frowned, not really following her logic. In his opinion, Drew was only okay looking. Her snippy, girly girl personality made her mediocre at best, and there were far prettier girls, besides. Lou Ellen had twinkly green eyes and nice teeth, plus she was funny and smart and liked to pull pranks. Drew only had superficial looks, and zero substance. “Definitely,” he murmured, earning a giggle from the girl.

“You know, Cecil, I’ve never given you much thought before,” she purred, batting long eyelashes at him in a flirty manner.

He smirked, deciding Lou was a genius and definitely knew her shit. He’d have to thank her for saving his ass. “That’s alright, Drew, I’d have tripped over more than just my feet if you ever approached me on your own terms. Awkward is my specialty.”

Drew giggled again, twirling a long strand of black hair around her finger. They’d made it to her table, and her entire cabin was gawking at the two of them, like the girl had lost her marbles. “You’re pretty funny,” she murmured, dropping her gaze shyly, and biting her lip. “Well, this is my table. Thanks for walking me.”

Cecil stepped a little closer to the girl, cocking his head to the side. “No problem. Anytime. Say, I know you’re so out of my league, being a beautiful goddess and all that, but we should go out sometime.” He waited for her to laugh, slap him, wring his throat, but she did something far, far worse.

Giggling once more, she nodded her head. “Okay, how about tomorrow? You can take me out on the lake.”

Cecil's jaw dropped, along with each of her sibling’s jaws. He recovered faster than he expected, bobbing his head and shuffling his feet. “Sure thing, see you then.” Then he raced off, internally screaming.

Sitting down at his own table, he raked a hand down his face. Never, not in his wildest dreams, did he ever think Drew Tanaka would say yes to a date with him. Sure, the girl forgave him for his little blunder, but he was Cecil, and she was Drew freaking Tanaka. They were like apples and tomatoes, kind of both fruit, but only reluctantly and by a stupid technicality. It wasn't hard to discern which one Cecil was. He hung his head, completely unsure what to do next.

“Hey, Cecil,” Lou Ellen said, tapping him gently on the shoulder.

He glanced up into her warm, green eyes, suddenly feeling a thousand times worse. “Hey, Lou Lou. What’s up,” he laughed nervously, making her frown.

“I was just checking to see how you’re doing. You’re not dead, so I assume she forgave you for earlier.” Her eyes wandered over to the Aphrodite table, then flicked back to him. “So, tell me how it went.”

The curious look she gave him caused butterflies to smash around his insides, and he swallowed hard. “Uh, great. She said yes and everything. Funny, huh?”

Lou’s face became unreadable. “She did, did she?” Her tone was light, but held something sinister.

Cecil winced. “Yeah, we’re going out tomorrow, I guess.”

Lou nodded, tucking a strand of long, black hair behind her ear and smiling. “Hey, that’s great. Looks like I was wrong for once, someone does want to date you. Well, have a good dinner, Cecil.” She walked away slowly, taking a seat at her own table, back turned toward him.

He groaned, covering his face with both of his hands. Somehow, Lou Ellen acting like everything was peachy made him really hate himself. Maybe he could get out of the date with Drew, figure out an excuse and hope she didn’t strangle him. His eyes flicked back to her table, noting the way her gaze wandered toward him from time to time, batting her eyelashes horribly and giggling with her sisters.

Okay, so that was out, he didn’t want the entire cabin’s wrath upon him. Even if they were the children of love, something told him they were vicious when scorned. No, he’d need to do the next best thing, making Drew realize her mistake and dumping him hard, hopefully quite publicly, and preferably around a certain daughter of Hecate. It was time to think up the perfect scheme. A smile crossed his face. This could be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The POV changed only for necessity. I don't think I'm going to normally do that midchapter.  
> Tell me what you think, please and thank you. :)


	4. A slight distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will can't focus, for more reasons than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the whole entire top portion last night after writing the other chapter. I guess I was inspired.

Will sat inside the infirmary, staring longingly at the wall. In less than twenty four hours, his entire world had been turned on its head, and not even in a bad way. Nico, his beautiful Nico, actually liked him back. A silly, lovesick sigh escaped his lips, followed shortly by an angry clearing of the throat behind him.

Kayla pursed her lips, hands on her hips, frowning down at him in his swivel chair. “Can you please pull your head out of the clouds and focus? We have patients to see, and we kind of need you. You can go back to daydreaming about kissing Nico di Angelo afterward.”

He frowned, completely caught off guard. “Who said I’m daydreaming about Nico?” He tried for nonchalance, but it kind of came out defensive, which really wasn’t a good sigh.

Kayla rolled her eyes, folding her arms. “Please, Will, you only stare longingly at the boy every time he’s nearby. It’s not hard to put two and two together, unless of course your name happens to be Nico. I swear, that boy is even more dense than you are.”

Will scoffed. “How am I dense? I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“I’m not getting in the middle of this, that boy can tell you his feelings when he is good and ready.” She smirked, clearly pleased with herself.

“Maybe he already has,” Will replied haughtily.

Kayla’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Wait. Woah. Slow down, back up, start over, and dish. Leave nothing out, or I might have to hurt you.”

He grinned, cheeks hurting from smiling so hard. “Last night, I told Nico how I felt and he said it was reciprocated. So that’s why I’m sitting here spacey, I’m just happy, that’s all.”

Kayla waved her hands wildly. “And? Did you kiss? Are you dating now? That can’t be the extent of it.”

He frowned again, not really sure what to say. “Uh, we held hands and went to sleep? And now we’re kind of in the middle of a war.” He poked his index fingers together, feeling awkward.

She sighed, raking a hand down her face. “How did I know that even after this whole, stupid year of you two dancing around your completely obvious attraction for one another, you still would be at square one? Honestly, Will, are you daft? Just make a move already."

Will groaned, covering his face with both of his hands. “I don’t even know how,” he whined, peeking through his fingers to look at his sister.

Kayla rolled her eyes. “Just grab him and kiss him. He likes you back, doofus. You literally can’t have better confirmation that it will be taken well if you happened to just bend down and go for it.”

He flushed, shuffling nervously in his seat. “I’m too nervous, I can’t. Honestly, even being a foot away from him makes my mouth go dry and my mind blank. I’d probably end up hurting us both if I tried anything.”

She shot him a pointed look, making him wince. “Nico will never, not in a million years, initiate anything first. It has to be you, or you’ll have to be okay with only ever being friends. Those are your options here, brother. So suck it up, man up, and kiss the boy. For Hera’s sake, do all of us a favor and end this sexual tension madness so everyone can move on with their lives already.”

Will narrowed his eyes at her, knowing his sister too well to think she was just being metaphorical. “Kayla,” he warned, catching the anxious look that flittered across her face. “Spill, now.” He crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips. Even from his sitting position, he knew the look would make her acquiesce.

She chewed her lips nervously, eyes scanning the room for a distraction or exit. When she found none, she groaned loudly, raking a hand down her face once more. “Okay, so maybe we have bets placed on when and how you two morons will confess your love for one another and finally take the next, completely logical step, and get together. Maybe, just a little, I said you would make the first move. But, in my defense, I’m not lying when I say I am almost one hundred percent certain that Nico will never do it first, even with this strange turn of events.”

He scoffed, drawing his hands down to place them firmly on his hips. “Who is we, exactly? Name names, or I’ll pin the whole blame on you, and you will suffer alone.”

Kayla put her hands up in a defensive manner. “Woah, woah, take it easy there, Will. It’s kind of most of the camp, at this point. It started with Lou Ellen and Cecil, probably because you blabbed to them both, and then it escalated. At one point, even Percy Jackson and Jason Grace were in on the pool. Though, with their absence, they were disqualified. I mean, that’s the rules, leave camp, forfeit the pot.”

“And what, exactly, is this pot you speak of? How much are we talking here?”

She laughed nervously, rubbing her hand along her neck. “Well, it started out small. See, people thought you’d be together by now. When you weren’t, and everyone was wrong, we just kept adding and adding to it, and it grew and grew and grew. It’s been almost a year, I’ll have you know.” She chuckled, trying to buy herself time.

Will huffed, tapping his foot at her. “Kayla, just tell me the amount right now.”

“A thousand drachma,” she mumbled, lip protruding from her mouth.

Will gave a low whistle, thoroughly impressed. “And what are the terms to win it now?”

Kayla sighed, eyeing him warily. “Well, I’ll win if you two idiots kiss in the next week, but only if you instigate it first. Lou Ellen wins if you kiss Nico first by the end of the month, and Connor Stoll wins if you kiss him by the end of the summer. Those are just a few of them.”

He frowned. “Does anyone think Nico will be the one to kiss me first?”

She shook her head, smiling slightly. “Actually, no. Everyone can see you’re the one who will push things forward. It’s just a matter of when.”

An evil smile crossed his face, and he hummed happily. “Add me to the pot, I say Nico kisses me by the week’s end, and I swear on the river Styx I won’t even tell him about the money or try to keep myself from initiating anything should my mind decide to finally follow through. Worst that can happen, I lose, and someone else gets more money. I’ll even refrain from betting ever again. However, if you don’t allow me to bet, I’ll make sure no one wins. Ever.”

She gasped loudly, hand grasping her chest. “You wouldn’t dare,” she breathed, eyes wide.

“Oh sister, how little you know me. Now, ten drachmas, take it or leave it.”

* * *

 

Will chuckled to himself, skipping along happily as he made his way to the dining pavilion. Ten drachmas for the chance to win one thousand? It was well worth it, even if he didn’t win. Hell, no matter the outcome, he technically won, seeing as how he’d gotten the one thing he’d wanted for over a year now. If he was honest with himself, it was more like two years now, though no one knew about his crush before Nico turned back up at camp, as it was a lot easier hiding it with the boy far, far away from him.

Nico stepped from the shadows and nearly gave him a heart attack. In his dazed state, it was probably inattentiveness, nothing more, but he still frowned and stamped his food all the same. “Holy Hephaestus, Nico, are you trying to scare me half to death?”

Nico smirked, tilting his head to the side. Those dark eyes bore into Will, making him squirm. “No, but if I do, it serves you right for earlier. You did almost make me choke to death.”

Oh, right. He forgot about their little war he’d started in a moment of flustered panic. A blush rose to his cheeks and he shuffled his feet around, embarrassed over his brazen actions. “I forgot about that, sorry,” he mumbled, averting his gaze.

Nico chuckled, sauntering over to him, hands in his pockets. “I’d say we’re even, but since I really don’t know how you didn’t notice me standing here, I’m not taking credit for that. Something on your mind?” His face was a mixture of curiosity and amusement, dark eyes filled with unmasked emotion. It had taken so long to get to a place of trust, that Will momentarily worried his little bet might push the other away.

Chewing his lip, he kicked himself for swearing not to say anything. “Yes, and no. I guess I’m just a little distracted is all.” Nico’s face became unreadable and he panicked. “Get dinner with me? I mean, if you want to. If it’s not too much trouble for you. I understand if you want to say no. I’ll stop talking now.”

Nico broke out into a large grin, rolling his eyes and nudging Will with his elbow. “We get food together every meal, you dork. You don’t even need to ask me.”

Will hummed happily, wiggling slightly. His body did that whenever he was excited or bursting with emotions, like his cells were buzzing, so his body had to buzz along with them. “I know, but that was before, uh, you know. Things could be different. Are they? Different?”

Nico frowned slightly, his eyes getting a far away look in them. “I don’t see why they would be,” he finally said with a shrug. “We’re still friends, right?”

Will forced a laugh, then winced when it came out shrill and awkward. “Yeah, definitely. Best friends. That’s all. Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Nico smirked, biting his lip and cocking a brow. “That doesn’t mean it can’t be more, you dolt.” His eyes twinkled with amusement, and Will felt his nervousness ebb.

“Oh. You’re right,” a sheepish smile spread across his face, earning a snicker from Nico. “I’m just… adjusting. Wow. Okay. So, we should go get food. I’m starving.”

They fell into step, walking the familiar path down to the dining pavilion. He snuck a few sidelong glances at Nico, wondering how he’d ever gotten someone so different to actually like him. Will was a bundle of raw nerves ninety percent of the time, somehow managing to form sentences that didn’t scare the other off. Nico was calm, always collected, even a little quiet. The fact that he hadn’t blurted out his feeling on accident prior to his confession was actually quite astonishing to him, though he chalked it up to luck and a little bit of fear.

Nico glanced over at him, smirking once more. “You’re being unusually quite, Solace. Normally you’re talking my ear off. So, what’s got you so tight lipped?”

Will stopped mid step, biting down on his tongue to stop it from confessing. He wasn’t good under pressure, or maybe it was just that Nico had a way of pulling information out of him. “I just. Well.” Dark eyes stared curiously and he groaned. “It’s something I can’t tell you, I swore on the Styx. Please don’t make me talk, you know I can’t help myself.” His words came out in a low whine and he twitched.

Nico’s eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. “Alright,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, though. Is there any way I can be of assistance?”

Will’s eyes drifted down to Nico’s lips and he swallowed hard. “No, just keep doing what you’re doing. And I’m fine, just a little bit distracted today.” He took a step closer, dropping his voice. “You’re partially to blame for that, anyway, your existence is kind of a huge distraction. I mean, more than normal, since last night.”

Nico laughed. “I’ll try to refrain from being so attractive in your presence.”

“In that case, you’d never be allowed anywhere near me. I can’t have that.” He smirked, taking another tentative step forward. “No, I’ll just have to learn to adapt, and you know the best way to do that?”

Nico looked up at him, a slight blush darkening his olive cheeks. “Uh, no,” he squeaked, shuffling his feet.

Will laughed, reaching out and poking Nico on the nose. “Why, by seeing more of you, of course. Now, seriously, I missed lunch, so I’m kind of dying. Plus I heard Cecil is going to make a fool of himself, and I don’t want to miss it, so let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Will is all over the place, sometimes oblivious, sometimes brazen, mostly nervous. It's rough, transitioning from crush to potential lover. Lots of emotions.


	5. Lou Ellen's feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lou explores her range of emotions upon hearing of Cecil's date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lou chapter!

Lou Ellen wandered into the dining pavilion with her siblings, slightly later than the rest of the camp. It had been a long day in the strawberry fields, and then the Dionysus cabin left the Hecate cabin behind to finish putting away their shipment, so it had taken twice as long as it normally would have. Now she was exhausted from hauling crates of strawberries to the truck, and in desperate need of a pick me up.

Spotting Cecil sitting at the Hermes table, head in his hands, she waved goodbye to her siblings and sauntered over. A little humiliation story was just what she needed, and though she didn’t witness things firsthand, Cecil wouldn’t mind recounting the gory details for her later. Tapping him on the shoulder gently, he flinched. “Hey, Cecil,” she murmured as he turned to face her, a strange smile pulling at his lips.

“Hey, Lou Lou. What’s up,” he squeaked, then chuckled, looking twitchy.

She frowned at him, but figured it was just him being strange again. “I was just checking to see how you’re doing. You’re not dead, so I assume she forgave you for earlier.” Her eyes wandered over to Drew, giggling happily with her sisters, occasionally looking their way and grinning. It was odd, but not unlikely that Drew was so pleased with herself she, too, was recounting the horrors. Lou returned her gaze to Cecil, who suddenly looked pale. “So, tell me how it went.”

His eye twitched, then he smiled. “Uh, great. She said yes and everything. Funny, huh?”

Lou’s stomach dropped, adrenaline firing through her veins. “She did, did she?” It was all she could do to keep her voice from cracking, biting down on her tongue so hard she tasted blood.

Cecil dropped his gaze, fidgeting in his seat. “Yeah, we’re going out tomorrow, I guess,” he mumbled, blue eyes flicking back up to her’s, searching for something.

She nodded, idly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. It took all of her willpower to muster up a smile, and even then, she felt it trying to replace itself with a scowl. “Hey, that’s great. Looks like I was wrong for once, someone does want to date you.” From the corner of her eye she saw Drew turn back their way, and white hot anger shot through her. “Well, have a good dinner, Cecil,” she choked out, then turned around, placing one foot in front of the other, until she was back at her own table, releasing a breath of air she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

Sitting down, she made a point to choose a spot where she couldn’t see the Aphrodite table. If she had to spare one more glance at Drew Tanaka’s stupid face, she might wrap her hands around that tiny little neck and squeeze until the girl’s eyeballs popped out. The thought was so satisfying that she gagged, terrified of herself and what she might be capable of.

What was so great about the daughter of Aphrodite, anyway? Sure, she was pretty, with long legs, flat abs, perfect makeup, great hair, blemish free skin, a laugh that sounded like little bells, large brown eyes, perfect pouty lips over delicate, straight white teeth, but all those things were just superficial at best. Why would you want looks when substance was just so much more appealing?

Lou groaned, dropping her face into her hands. Who wouldn’t want Drew if they could have her? Cecil would spend one hour with that girl and that would be it, she’d whip him so fast his head would spin. Sure, Drew was known for being a man eater, but Cecil was just the right amount of easy going and utterly clueless that Drew might turn his head and keep him occupied for months, longer even, should she break his heart. And then where would Lou be?

Poking food around her plate, she lost all remnants of appetite. Anything that looked even remotely decent tasted like cardboard on her tongue, or made her stomach turn and roll the second she swallowed. When it got too difficult to concentrate, she rose from the table, making a beeline right for the Hecate cabin.

She refused to look anywhere while she walked, keeping her eyes trained on her feet the whole time. Catching a glimpse of either of the two would surely send her into a downward spiral, and she might use the mist against them just to make herself feel better. No, a good nights sleep would fix this. She’d turn in early and find something else to occupy her attention the following day. With a bitter sigh, she fell onto her bed, not even bothering to climb beneath the blankets.

 

* * *

 

Her dreams were terrible, an endless loop of Drew Tanaka laughing in her face and being chased by giant, carnivorous cupcakes, until she could stand it no longer and rose with the dawn. Even with an extra three hours of sleep, she still felt like hell, little bags already beginning to form underneath her eyes. There was still a good two hours before breakfast, but she pulled on her shoes and finger combed her hair, then stepped outside into the crisp, early morning air.

It was strange, being awake before everyone else. Usually she was the kind of person that slept until someone else forced her to rise, so the lack of campers running around really caught her off guard. Not even the sun was fully out of bed, the slightest hints of light just peeking up above the horizon. She started to head toward the lake, when someone running up behind her caught her attention. Turning, she saw the familiar blonde mop and smiled.

“Hey, Will, always up this early or couldn’t sleep?”

He bent at the waist and caught his breath, then stood tall and frowned at her. “You have some explaining to do, missy,” he huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

She blinked in confusion, totally caught off guard. Will eyed her angrily for a moment, before a puzzled look crossed his face. “Uh… I need more to go off than that, Will,” she mumbled, shuffling her feet.

“Are you alright, Lou? You look awful.”

She smiled, though it probably didn’t look very reassuring. “Yeah, I’m good, just couldn’t sleep well. So what’s up? I do a lot of things you’d be ticked about, you’ll need to spell it out for me.”

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, looking reluctant for some reason. “That bet you and Cecil started. I know about it. Kayla told me everything. You’re all going to lose, though, because I made my own bet, and it serves you lot right for betting on your friends like that.”

Lou bobbed her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Ah, yeah, that’s gone on far longer than we all expected. Speaking of which, I have a little side bet going that I want to check up on. Have you told Nico about your crush yet, or are you going to chicken out? Because I’m fairly certain you’ll like your odds of-“

“Yeah, I know, we talked about it,” Will cut her off, face going pink from embarrassment. He regarded her for a moment, then scratched his cheek in thought. “That’s kind of how I found out about your bet, I told Kayla and she kept hounding me to kiss Nico, then let it slip that she’d win if I did.”

“That little shit,” Lou seethed, eyes locking onto the Apollo cabin. “She knows we’re not allowed to encourage the two of you, at least not blatantly. Setting the mood or dropping hints, sure, but not outright telling you to do it.” Her eyes wandered back to Will, and he smirked.

“Well, don’t worry, I’m fairly certain my bet overrules her bet, so if anything, I’d win. I don’t foresee myself kissing Nico before the week is up.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What exactly did you bet?”

Will grinned, eyes twinkling brightly. “That Nico would kiss me first.”

Lou snorted, patting him gently on the arm. “Good luck with that, buddy. Nico’s likelihood of kissing you first is so slim that no one ever bet on it. It's just absurd, he’s too shy.”

Will shrugged. “We’ll see. Something tells me he’s less shy than everyone thinks.” He made like he was going to leave, before eyeing her curiously once more. “Don’t worry about Drew, she’s superficial and obnoxious.” Then he walked away, leaving her to her terrible thoughts.

* * *

  
As much as she tried to focus on Will’s words of encouragement, by the time breakfast rolled around, her mood was even worse. The moment stupid Drew appeared, all giggles and smiles and perfectly put together, she wanted to march over and smack the stupid look from the other girl’s face.

Cecil’s awkward avoidance of her person didn’t help matters much, causing her to mutter curses under her breath, shooting death glares at anyone that made eye contact. When one of her siblings asked if she was alright, the girl’s cup exploded red liquid all over their table the moment Lou opened her mouth to snap a reply. She excused herself after that, deciding she needed to clear her head, preferably far away from the entirety of the Aphrodite cabin.

Her aimless wandering took her to the beach, and she stared out at the soft waves as they lapped at the shoreline. The rich, salty air had a calming effect, seeping into her pours as the roar of the ocean blocked out most thoughts. Sitting down in the sand, she hugged her legs tightly to her chest and watched a little crab scurry along the the rocks. Time passed, though how much, she wasn’t certain.

By the time she stood up, her back was stiff, her bottom hurt, and the moments spent alone watching the sea did absolutely nothing for her sour mood. She hadn’t asked when Cecil was taking Drew out to the lake, but she crossed her fingers that it was already done and over with. As her eyes wandered over that way, a part of her hoped the boat had capsized and the girl drowned. It was petty, of course, but the thought made her smile, so she forgave herself and dragged her gaze back to a less infuriating path.

The worst part of everything wasn’t that Drew had said yes to Cecil, or that Cecil might actually like Drew back if he spent enough time with her. No, it was that after months and months of skirting around the issue, of telling herself that she only kind of liked the boy, her jealousy and rage over one tiny date spoke volumes.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, it was certain that no one would ever, in a million years, look at Cecil twice. He was always there as her failsafe, her fallback crutch, and their current relationship was comfortable for the time being. Perhaps one day, years down the road, after lots and lots of exploration and playing the field, the two would come to terms with things and get together. But that was so many years away, not something that should be happening right now, when she wasn’t prepared to make a choice.

It killed her to admit it, but she only had herself to blame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Lou, she's trying so hard to keep from killing Drew just for existing. Probably doesn't help that her advice is part of the reason Cecil got so "lucky."
> 
> Next chapter is all Cecil.   
> Sorry if that's not really wanted.


	6. Cecil's plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil couldn't be prouder that he came up with the perfect plan all by himself. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if anyone hates the deviation from the two main boys.

Cecil’s plan was foolproof, and he couldn’t wait to enact it. He’d sat up for hours the night before, thinking of something all by himself. He would have asked Lou Ellen for assistance, but it was kind of embarrassing when his only reason for not wanting to go out with Drew was he liked Lou more. Their relationship was fine just the way it was, no reason to complicate things with emotions.

Breakfast was the hardest. He couldn’t sit still, and his nerves were a wreck. He’d spent the entire meal staring at his plate, willing himself to take each and every bite. If he was going to do this, he was going to need his strength. Besides, if everything backfired, Drew might literally kill him this time. Skipping breakfast and then hiding out without eating the rest of the day just wasn’t an option. When he was finished, he looked around for Lou, but she wasn’t anywhere he could easily find her. Shrugging, he went off to the archery range with the rest of his cabin.

The sun was hot that day, beads of sweat dripping down his face. He fired off an arrow, just barely missing the target. A frown creased his brow, and he pulled another arrow from his quiver and nocked it to the bowstring. Archery had never been his strong suit, but you’d think after years of practice, he’d at least be able to hit the stupid target. Letting the arrow fly, he managed to nick the side of the haystack, cursing under his breath as it landed in the bushes behind it.

“Not your day, huh?” His brother Connor came up and patted him on the shoulder, giving him a tight smile. Ever since Travis left for college, Connor was a lot less cheerful. He hadn’t pulled a prank or stolen anything from anyone in months, which was pretty strange for a child of Hermes.

“When is it ever my day when it comes to archery,” Cecil muttered, setting the bow down onto the ground with a sigh.

Connor nodded sympathetically. “You’re right, you’ve always been lousy. I was just trying to cheer you up." Chewing on his lip, he eyed Cecil strangely. "I heard about you and Drew, that’s pretty interesting, though I thought you liked Lou Ellen. Kind of seem perfect for each other.” He tried to look nonchalant, but it was pretty obvious he was gauging the other's reaction. 

Cecil’s cheeks heated up. He'd be damned if he told Connor anything about how he actually felt. “I was dared to ask Drew out by Will, I didn’t think she’d actually say yes. I got him back for it, though, by daring him to confess his feelings to Nico. That should speed up things, maybe someone can finally win that stupid bet already, if he doesn’t chicken out first.”

Connor snapped his fingers, a look of realization dawning on his face. “Oh shit, that’s what I forgot. Kayla told me Will and Nico admitted their feelings the other day, and then, that she was stupid and let Will know about the bet. Now he’s in on it, too, but he thinks Nico will make the first move. You hang out with those two, what are the chances Will is right and might win?”

Cecil gasped, completely caught off guard. “They did what? And I’m just now hearing about it?” He frowned, pursing his lips. Lou was going to rub it in his face when she found out he’d lost their side bet. He was counting on Will being too much of a chicken to say anything working in his favor. No matter, he could always find something else to bet her on. “As for Nico making the first move, I highly doubt it. Even if he does know the feeling is mutual, he’s not the forward type. Will knowing about everything might put a damper on things, though, we might have to change things up a bit or he’ll ensure no one wins it. Was he pissed?”

Connor shrugged, idly picking at the feathers on the end of his arrow. “She didn’t say he was, but who knows. I’m all for switching things up a bit, but we will need to wait until the week’s end. Will swore he’d only bet the one time, so once he loses, we can get everyone together and see what kind of wagers they want to make. Obviously we’ll count everything good, no need to make the stakes any higher than they already are.” He plucked a small piece of feather off and tossed it to the ground. “Perhaps we’ll get a better feel for how things might go by then. Too bad no one bet they’d actually confess things without kissing. This stupid bet has gone on for way too long already.”

Cecil laughed, picking up the bow and quiver to return them both to the shed. Archery practice was practically over for them, so there was no point in worrying about firing off another round. “Tell me about it. Lou Ellen and I have been following those idiots around for months trying to set the mood, and they still haven’t taken that step. Who knows, maybe we should just give everyone their money back and call it good.”

Connor fell into step with him, scrunching up his nose distastefully. “Nah, now it’s kind of personal. And to think, I was probably going to win if it wasn’t for Kayla’s big mouth.”

“Why are you so sure it was going to be you that won,” Cecil asked, frowning again.  They made it to the shed and hung the bows back on their hooks, setting the quivers down along the wall. He glanced back at the targets, forgetting to collect the remaining arrows up to throw them in the fix up pile.

Conner grinned, a slightly mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Because, the Aphrodite cabin wanted us all to throw an end of summer formal bash, and you know what that means, right?” He gave a pointed look, like it was self explanatory or something.

“No?”

Connor shook his head sadly, but that strange look still hadn’t fully left his face. “Slow dancing, Cecil. And you know anything put on by the Aphrodite cabin means lots of feelings of euphoria and lust, which means if they haven’t kissed by then, they definitely won’t be able to keep their hands off one another.” 

* * *

 

“There you are, Cecil. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Drew purred, coming up beside him after lunch.

He glanced up at her from his seat at the Hermes table, slightly confused. It wasn’t like he was hiding out, he’d actually been pretty easy to find, though knowing Drew, she hadn’t really been looking. “Oh, hey, Drew,” he said, giving her a brief smile before turning his attention back to his plate.

She sat down next to him, looking at him expectantly. “Well, when are you going to take me out? Half the daylight is already gone, you know. Unless you wanted it to be a romantic, sunset boat ride, in which case, I can forgive you.” She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at him.

Cecil drew one arm up in a shrug before casually letting it drop. “Whenever you want, I’ve got some time now. Nothing better to do.” He flicked his gaze over to her as he spoke, but made sure he didn’t let it remain on her for too long.

Drew pursed her lips and frowned. “I guess now is fine. Come on, then, before all of the paddle boats are gone.” She rose from her seat, tapping her foot while he took his sweet time gathering his things.

When he was finally standing, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and strolled away toward the lake. Drew hurried to catch up with him, casting strange looks at him from time to time, then pouting. He glanced at her sidelong, noting the displeased look on her face. A smirk pulled at his lips, and he mentally high fived himself for already getting under her skin in such a short amount of time. At this rate, she’d be done with him by dinnertime.

He climbed into one of the boats on the dock, then sat down, looking at her expectantly. “Well, get in, then, we don’t have all day.” He cocked a brow and tried for mild aggravation.

Drew frowned, chewing on her lip. “Aren’t you going to help me in? I am a lady.”

He clutched his chest in mock horror, standing back up in the boat. “Oh, I’m so sorry, here,” he murmured, reaching out a hand for her to take. When she daintily set her palm in his, he yanked hard, earning a satisfying yelp from the girl. “There, now be a doll and untie us, would you?” He sat back down and stretched lazily, making a point not to look her way. They paddled a little ways out in silence.

“It’s a lovely day today,” she sighed, resting a hand millimeters from his own.

He looked over at it, then up into her brown eyes while she smiled sweetly at him. “I’ve seen nicer,” he shrugged, moving his arms up to lace his fingers behind his head.

Drew awkwardly pulled her hand away, a slight blush spreading across her cheeks. “So, Cecil, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to eat dinner with me later.” She tugged at a lock of hair, twisting it around her finger.

“I’m pretty busy, actually.”

Worrying her lip between her teeth, she nodded stiffly. “Oh, alright. Another time, perhaps.”

He frowned slightly, not expecting her to say that, then brushed it off. Maybe that was just a nice way of saying your loss. He’d never really talked much with girls he wasn’t related to, at least not for extended periods of time. Lou Ellen was the exception to that, and they never made plans to eat together, it usually just happened or whatever. He shrugged again, eyes drifting around the lake. It was pretty boring out there, and he wasn’t quite sure why Drew would want to sit on the water just the two of them. There was literally nothing to do but sit.

“Well this is boring,” he muttered, looking over at the girl.

She turned bright red and dropped her gaze into her lap. “Uh, sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. We can go back if you’d like.”

Nodding his head, the two began paddling back to the edge of the lake. “Yeah, it was kind of stupid to go out in the first place.” He glanced sidelong at her as she sank deeper into her seat. “Oh, not that you’re stupid, Drew. Just your idea."

They reached the dock and he tied to rope to the peg, then climbed out, ignoring Drew when she offered up her hand. With a slight sniff, she awkwardly clambered out, face pink and eyes a little watery. He braced himself for her fury, expecting her to call him an idiot or even push him into the lake. Instead, she stepped forward, flicking her gaze up shyly, then rose up and brushed her lips gently against his cheek.

“Thanks for taking me out, Cecil. Next time I’ll try to think of something better to do. I mean, if you want to, of course.” She clasped her hands together, twiddling her thumbs and shuffling her feet. After a beat or two, she nodded and took a step back. “I’ll see you around,” she murmured, then scurried off.

He watched her go, completely confused and a little horrified. Not only had she not yelled at him, but she acted like she enjoyed their date, or at least wanted to try again. It had lasted all of twenty minutes maximum, he hadn’t paid hardly any attention to her, and he called her idea boring as well as stupid. What in the world was wrong with the girl?

Shaking his head, he wandered back toward the dining pavilion. Perhaps, given a little time, Drew would come to her senses and realize he had no interest in her. For the moment, he had bigger worries, like making sure a certain son of Apollo didn’t win his bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only time Cecil isn't good at messing things up.  
> Perhaps he messed up his mess up?
> 
> Obviously back to Nico and Will with the next chapter or two.


	7. Something suspicious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico can't help but notice the obnoxious amount to attention he's getting. What does it mean?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? I didn't forget about this one!  
> I was just... everything else was just...  
> So much more demanding of me?  
> I'm terrible. I apologize.  
> No more two month plus gaps.

It wasn’t that Nico necessarily suspected something strange was happening that he wasn’t privy to, just that each time he found himself standing a little too closely to Will, or before they even so much as got the chance to be alone, another camper would come and interrupt them, earning a scowl from the blond, and forcing the suspicious feeling to further solidify inside of him the longer time passed.  Not even just a hi Nico, hi Will, but an all out interruption and distraction, leaving the both of them little choice but to smile and go along with everything. In fact, it had gotten to the point that he’d narrowed down a couple of clues, which strangely only seemed to confuse him all the more.

For starters, sitting far too close to Will during meals was less likely to earn random interruptions than if they attempted to go inside the Hades cabin together, which Will was all for suggesting they do, and often.  Not that the two didn’t usually spend time together there, it was Nico’s favorite place to be, after all, and far less crowded than any place else.  It was just the way he said it, sounding a lot more like ‘I want to be _alone_ with you’ than it ever had, which, okay, Nico totally got, seeing as how their privacy was being encroached on steadily, but it was also intimate in a way that made his cheeks burn violently and mouth go dry. 

It wasn’t just when they were alone, though, because any time he helped Will out in the infirmary, another Apollo camper was never far from sight. That also wasn’t overly odd, but even break happy Austin seemed to prefer remaining obnoxiously close by to leaving, even to go to the bathroom, unless someone else was there to supervise him and Will.  And on top of the lack of space, they'd never had so many random patients for ridiculous reasons, campers coming in for minor cuts and scrapes that normally weren’t even bothered with, from what he could recall in the last year he'd been assisting. It was as if everyone needed to check up on the two of them with their own eyes, for whatever reason he couldn't begin to guess.  All of it together screamed something fishy.

Second, people appeared to take a strange interest in him, asking him to help out with things they never had before.  The Demeter cabin sought him out one morning during breakfast to get his help with identifying some plants they swore bore a striking resemblance to things only previously found growing in Persephone’s garden, which was also only something only he would know for sure.  They turned out to be a completely harmless strain from the nightshade family, and he was pretty sure the cabin already knew that, since he wasn’t the one to recognize it in the first place.  The trek ate up the better part of the morning, which consequently left him very little free time to visit with Will the remainder of the day.

The Hephaestus cabin needed him on a separate occasion to help them try out their newly forged armors and weapons, which, okay, was totally less annoying than a half hour trek through the woods just to look at a plant, but it once again ate into the little free time he had available that morning, and no matter how often he tried to insist upon leaving, someone had a new thing to show him, which was entirely suspicious. He'd only made it out after it was glaringly obvious Will was stuck inside the infirmary, as a few campers watched him go there, before telling Nico he was free to leave.

The Hermes cabin needed his advice on which prank they should pull on the Hypnos cabin, the Aphrodite cabin wanted to gossip until he was ready to scream, the Athena cabin wanted to talk strategy for the upcoming game of capture the flag, even though it was still over a week away and they’d never done that before.  Ever.

Then there was Will in general, who was always just a bit jumpy and twitchy, but seemed rather on edge whenever Nico brought the strange matters up, and paled significantly whenever he asked why the boy seemed more tense than usual.

It all boiled down to three factors.  Will.  Nico.  And the two of them alone.  By the end of the fourth obnoxiously long day, either being kept from the son of Apollo, or not being allowed to so much as leave their tables together without someone carefully following the two of them, he had a small idea what the issue was. It made little sense, but he'd decided to test the theory out himself, convincing Will to meet him extra early in the morning, before anyone else could snoop and ruin his plan.

The timid knock on his door made him panic slightly, but he mustered an ounce of confidence, hoping he wasn’t about to make a complete fool out of himself were he wrong.  Will looked just as nervous as he felt, which ended up being so utterly endearing, the smile he found playing out on his lips was over eighty-five percent genuine, with only a hint of willpower to keep it from wobbling.

“What did you want to see me for at six o clock in the morning?  Normally I can’t drag you from bed til well after nine.”  Will rolled onto the balls of his feet, then back onto his heels, tilting his head slightly in a questioning manner.

Reaching a hand out, Nico grabbed him by the shirt, earning a surprised squeak as he dragged the son of Apollo inside, closing the door so hard it was practically a slam.  “I’ve just missed you is all,” he purred back in a silky and sensual voice, fist still tightly wound through the orange cotton, dragging the boy so close it was almost embarrassing.  Almost. Luckily for him, they'd been closer, or he would have tripped over his own tongue.

Will paled, eyes going wide in shock, lips parting slightly as he stared down at Nico oddly.  “Uh… I… uh…”

Strengthening his resolve, he took a step closer. “You know,” he said slowly, biting his lip a little, staring up at the blond through a fan of dark lashes.  “It’s been a few days, since you told me how you felt.  I’m a little surprised you haven’t tried anything yet.  Or were you waiting for an invitation?”  Uncurling his fingers, he ran them up Will’s stomach, stopping just over his pounding heart.

“I... uhm.  What,” Will asked, glancing down to the hand on his chest, following the length of it up Nico’s arm, connecting it to his shoulder, before flicking the blue gaze back to his heavily lidded eyes.

Nico smirked in response, quirking a brow.  “Unless you don’t want to kiss me?”

Will shook his head, brow furrowing, mouth a thin line.

“Go on, then,” he coaxed, stepping slightly closer, officially invading personal space. The heat rolled off Will in intoxicating waves, the scent of his apple shampoo swarming over Nico, making his head spin.  “Or am I going to have to just kiss you first,” he managed in an eerily level voice, considering how badly he felt like shaking at the moment.

Will’s eyes seemed to light up at the prospect, features softening as he gave a gentle nod.  “Okay,” he whispered, feet remaining firmly in place, watching with a dazed sort of expression as Nico rose up onto tiptoes, bringing their lips tantalizingly close, though not close enough to worry about accidentally pressing them together.

“Is this okay,” he breathed, tilting his head back to get a nice look into warm blue eyes.  They shone down with such intensity that he almost chickened out right then and there.  How he had managed to remain calm, hand still splayed over Will’s equally pounding heart, was a miracle in and of itself.

“Y-Yes,” Will whimpered, breath warm and minty as it left his mouth in quick, tiny puffs.

Even the scent of his stupid toothpaste was heavenly, and Nico resisted the urge to shout at him for being so hard to resist.  Instead, he cocked his head a little to the side, humming in contemplation.  “And you won’t?  Kiss me first, that is?  Not even while I’m so very close, asking you to, offering up my permission?”

A strangled sounding groan left the other’s mouth, brow furrowing as his eyes slipped shut.  “I… I’m sorry.  You… I… we…” he took a step back, running a hand through his hair as he chewed the skin of his lower lip, expression caught between guilt and longing.  “I’m not ready, after all.  I’m really sorry, Nico.  I… I’ll see you at breakfast.  I just remembered there’s something I have to do.  Please… Please don’t be mad at me?”

It was surprising, but not unexpected.  He had just been about to pull back himself, though, if he was honest with himself, a part of him did feel a little bummed out.  Nodding, he offered a reassuring smile, hoping it looked a little more genuine than it felt.  “Alright, that’s fine, Will.  Take your time.”  Closing the distance fast, Will pulled him into a crushing hug, the heat from his body so intense, it made him shiver slightly. 

“I’ll explain later, okay," Will mumbled somewhere close to his ear, voice tight and thick with strange emotions.

“Okay,” he replied breathlessly, feeling the delayed blush begin to warm his cheeks.

Will didn’t even spare a second glance his way, just pulled back and raced out the door, closing it gently with a soft click.

The air left his lungs in a bark of laughter, head swimming suddenly with an intense case of lightheadedness.  Placing cool hands on his burning cheeks, he steadied his breathing, eyes transfixed to the spot Will had been only seconds before.  He was nothing, if not straightforward; but never in his life had he acted so brazenly, not even in the few strange days following their mutual confession, which found them in a blushing war that neither really seemed to win, before it fizzled out entirely.

The only up side was he was ninety-nine percent sure the reason for everyone’s erratic behavior toward him and Will was whatever stupid bet they’d made over who would kiss the other first.  The fact that Will practically refused to do it wasn’t entirely out of character, but it spoke volumes that he'd looked relieved when Nico had offered to kiss him instead.  Which implied he needed Nico to be the one to initiate something first.

Another laugh escaped his throat, and he plopped down on the couch, rolling his eyes.  People really needed a new form of entertainment if the only thing they could think of to bet on was Nico and Will’s love life.  It's not even like they'd had much of one, anyway.  I mean, their crushes both spanned practically the entirety of their friendship, but that didn't mean they were so entertaining to watch that a bet had surfaced over it.  Or were they?

A thought occurred to him, and he smiled to himself, drumming his fingers along his knee as the newest plan solidified in his mind.  It would be worth the subtle embarrassment he’d undoubtedly feel if he turned the tables and saw how far he could push everyone's anxiety until they all cracked under the pressure.  Surely at least a week or so worth.  Who knows, perhaps by the end of it, they'd all think twice before betting on someone's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was definitely shorter than the others, but it was more for the sake of pushing things forward and giving _something_ more than the absolute nothing I was giving.  
>  Surprisingly, this is probably pretty close to what I had intended before, though I haven't written anything down, so I can't be certain. This is where it'll go now.  
> I don't know how I'm managing not to fail at updating numerous fics at the same time and still keep them coherent and separate in my mind.
> 
> Comments really do help to keep me writing.  
> Probably why it fell onto the back burner in the first place, I hadn't been asked about this since a little while after the last chapter posted.  
> <3 <3 <3


	8. Breaking resolve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi, only eight months later and I'm halfway confused on where the hell this fic was heading. :D

Will didn’t stop until he was back inside the infirmary, closing the door behind himself with a loud bang.  The roar of blood flowing through his veins filled his ears, heart racing a rapid staccato in the far too frail bones of his chest.  Nico knew.  There was absolutely no way he didn’t.  Will was screwed.

Leaning back against the wall, his head connected with drywall in a satisfying ping of vibration.  There was no telling what the son of Hades was going to do to him now, but he was almost positive it wasn’t going to be pretty.  Why he’d let him walk out of there without calling him out was a mystery, but it probably had to do with some plan of humiliation, or else he was hoping Will would crack under the pressure.

And he had, he’d cracked under those all too dark and endless eyes, felt his airways closing up on him as Nico slipped hands slowly up his body in a teasing manner.  He cracked under that sultry voice, those mesmerizingly luscious lips, and that all too trusting look he couldn’t comprehend still playing out over those olive features. 

Sure, they’d teased one another for days prior to that, but nothing to that extent.  Never once had they brought up kissing, aside from that moment in their little fort, still wrapped up in the safe sleepy newness of their entire revelation.  So, this was assuredly a predicament.  Either Nico was actually a whole different person than the boy he’d come to know so well, or he definitely knew the truth.

Groaning loudly, he kicked off the wall, marching into the back room where he hoped to find his sister.  Kayla was sorting through the newest delivery of medical supplies, placing them on the shelves with her back turned to him, seemingly lost in her own little world.

“So, what did Nico want?”

Will stopped short of the girl, brow furrowing hard as his mouth pressed into a thin line.  “I think we all need to call off the bet.”

A single skeptical blue eye glanced at him over her shoulder, pieces of green hair obscuring the other half of her face.  “And why is that?”

“Because he knows, Kayla.  Officially from this point forward, anything that happens will be with the knowledge that someone is going to make money off of it.  Can you understand how stressful that is?”

The girl rose then, arms crossed over her chest as she turned to face him.  “Are you sure you’re not just panicking because your part of the bet is almost up?”

The look he gave was equal parts shocked and enraged.  “Do you seriously think I would stoop so low as to take everyone down because I can’t win?  I’m being honest, I really do think he knows.”

“Yes.”

That caught him off guard, drawing a hand to his chest as he sucked in a loudly dramatic breath.  “Kayla Knowles!  Do you honestly think so little of me?”

A sly smile curled her lips in response.  “Maybe.”

Rolling his eyes, he snorted derisively.  “Well, I’m telling the truth.  You can go see for yourself if you don’t believe me.  I’ll take you over there right now if it proves my point.”

Kayla made a noncommittal sound, tapping a finger to her chin.  “I don’t know, Will.  How would he figure it out unless you or someone else told him outright?  I’m not saying Nico isn’t bright, but he is pretty dense.  I mean, it took him how long to realize you had a giant crush on him?”

“You.  That.  That’s completely beside the point, and you know it,” Will spluttered, flailing his arms about wildly.  “The point is that he knows.  And I’m tired of keeping this secret from him, to begin with.  Isn’t there some rule that if both parties know, the bet is officially voided?”

“You’d have to ask the Stolls, but I’m pretty sure the answer is no.  The only one who really loses here is you, dear brother.  Someone will eventually win the bet, and if necessary, we can change the specifics so neither one of you knew who bet what and when.”

“You’re pure evil,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes apprehensively.

Kayla batted her eyelashes playfully in response.  “I know.”

“And what if I retaliated by just never kissing Nico, hm?  What would you do then?”

She shot him another skeptical look before throwing her head back with a bubbly laugh.  “Oh, Will.  As if you could.”

With a huff of indignation, he turned on his heels and stomped his way out of the room.

* * *

 

By the time dinner rolled around, Will was a thorough mess.  The events of the morning continued to run through his mind on an endless loop, every action Nico had used against him taunting his mind to the point of insanity.  His nerves were shot, his hands shaking from the stress. 

It had been so unbearable to even consider leaving the infirmary that he’d convinced Austin to bring him his meals there, so he wouldn’t have to chance a run in with the son of Hades.  Not that his siblings complained.  If anything, it was easier for them to watch Will twiddle his thumbs than to follow him about to assure he lost the bet.  He’d have done it longer, but Kayla dragged him out by the arm around six pm with a deathly scowl on her face.

“Avoiding him will get you nowhere, just face it like a man,” she’d scolded, tugging him along behind herself quite reluctantly.  Pushing him down onto the bench at their table, she plopped into the spot across from him, holding him in place with just a single hard stare.

Nico wasn’t there yet, which meant if he played his cards right, he could wolf down his meal and run away before things became far too awkward to deal with.  Heaving a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate.

“Alright, I give.”

“Good.  Now have a proper meal before you pass out from the stress,” she huffed.

Sparing a glance about the place, he brought a shaky bite of food up to his lips.

“I missed you at lunch today,” a husky voice breathed far too close to his ear, causing him to cry out and drop his fork back onto the plate with a loud clattering sound.

Spinning around, he gazed up into amused black eyes, mouth going dry almost instantly.  Nico’s lips twitched at the corners as he took his usual seat on the right of Will, if not a little closer than usual, setting down a plate full of foods that would normally earn him a lecture were it not for the thundering of the other’s frail heart.

“Long day in the infirmary,” Nico guessed as he munched coolly on a greasy fry, sparing Will a sidelong glance.

Swallowing down the anxiety bubbling in his throat, he offered a brittle laugh in response.  “Yeah, the new stock arrived today, and half the Hephaestus cabin came in for various injuries.  I guess their forge blew up due to volatile materials being added to their newest inventions.”

Kayla snorted into her drink and he resisted the urge to shoot the girl a withering glare.  It was mostly the truth, even if he himself wasn’t as quite as occupied as the words made it seem.

“Sounds exciting,” Nico murmured, turning and smiling so softly it should have been illegal.  “I’d have stopped by, but you ran out so fast this morning I was sure you probably needed a little space.”

“What,” Will replied in a high falsetto, earning a quirked brow from everyone around him.  Clearing his throat, he shook his head.  “Not at all.  You’re always welcome to come and help, you know that.”

Humming in amusement, the son of Hades returned his attention back to his meal.  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he promised.

The rest of the meal was spent in companionable silence, though Will was hardly able to get a single bite of food into his mouth before Nico’s leg would suddenly find itself pressed against his and he’d internally panic, or his arm would brush against the other’s as the boy happened to reach for his drink at the exact same time Will was bringing the fork back to his lips.

Kayla watched on with a gleeful expression, cutting her food into nearly invisible slivers as she drew out her meal for as long as humanly possible.  If Nico seemed to notice the odd behavior, he didn’t mention it, just proceeded to eat as if it were any other day and Will wasn’t about to blow a fuse in his brain.

Finally, after fifteen agonizingly tormenting minutes, Nico turned to him with a dazzling smile.  “Well, I’ll be heading back to my cabin now.  Have breakfast with me tomorrow?”

“S-sure,” Will squeaked, pulling his own shaky smile to his lips.  “Have a good night, Nico.”

“You too, Will,” he replied, slipping from the bench with catlike fluidity.  Before the action could even fully register in his brain, something warm pressed itself against his cheek briefly, the dark boy drawing away with a heavily lidded gaze and a gently pink face.  “See you tomorrow, then.”

The entire dining pavilion seemed to go silent as Will blinked up at the other with a confused expression.  Stuffing his hands lazily into his pockets, Nico sauntered off into the steadily darkening night, drawing many curious eyes his way until he disappeared around the corner.  In an instant, the buzz of excited chatter cut through the tension, each table leaning in close as its campers whispered to one another conspiratorially.

Kayla snickered behind her hand as Will’s round blue eyes turned to her in question.  “I guess you weren’t just imagining things.  Either Nico has suddenly been reborn as a child of Apollo, or that boy is getting back at you and everyone else for betting on the two of you in the first place.  I have to say, this is quite an interesting development.”

Groaning loudly, he slumped down in his seat.  “Can’t we just call the whole thing off, so I can apologize profusely and move on with my life?  I’m going to die from all of this stress.”

“Not a chance.  Watching the two of you squirm is the whole reason these bets started in the first place.  You’re both riveting to watch,” she replied with a wicked grin.  “And besides, more people are bound to up the stakes now that both of you know.  It’s even juicier this way.”

Will scowled hard at his sibling, crossing arms over his chest.  “The next time you need something from me, I want you to remember this conversation as the reason why I’ll refuse you no matter what.”

“Fine by me,” she quipped, rising from her place at the table.  “I have to get back now so Austin can come eat.  Don’t keep your face like that for too long or it might get stuck that way.”

Will watched her go with an equally sour look on his face, clenching his teeth so hard it began to hurt.  Connor appeared in his field of vision, drawing his anger over to the son of Hermes as he jogged up with a goofy looking grin.

“Heya, Will,” he chirped, slapping the other hard on the shoulder.  “I don’t know what you did, but this stuff is pure gold.  I mean, Nico di Angelo actually kissed you on the cheek in front of most of the camp.  It’s too bad that was never part of the bet or you’d be one thousand drachmae richer right now, my friend.”

Heaving a tired sigh, Will brushed off the other boy’s hand.  “I’m not in the mood to chat about that right now, Stoll.  In case you haven’t noticed, Nico clearly is on to all of you and now I’m going to suffer for it for Zeus only knows how long because everyone in camp can’t mind their own business.”

“You could just go ahead and kiss him.  Get it over with.”

“And let one of you make a profit off of us?  Fat chance.  I should have just come right out and told Nico the truth, had him kiss me so no one would win,” he replied as his body slumped even further into his seat.

Connor clicked his tongue sympathetically.  “It’s true, that’s what you get for stooping to our level,” he murmured.

Will shot the older boy a dark look.  “No matter, after Sunday my end of the bet is up.  If I just push through, I can still tell Nico the truth and then we’ll see who has the last laugh.”

“Oh Will, what makes you think no one has already thought of that and bet on Nico instigating the kiss first?”

Blinking rapidly in surprise, he shook his head to clear away the static in his brain.  “I’m sorry, what?”

A wicked smile curled the boy’s lips.  “Indeed.  The moment Kayla blabbed to you I informed the rest of the betters of the newest development.  It took a bit of persuasion, but now we have a solid stretch to ensure someone wins this thing by the end of the year.”

“What do you mean,” Will asked with a frown.

“Simple, if neither one of you initiates something by midnight on December 31st, one lucky camper gets the whole pot.  To be honest, I’m surprised I didn’t think of it first, betting that nothing would happen between you two.  It’s quite genius, and now no one else gets to make a similar bet that negates the first.  If anything, after Sunday evening, no one will care anymore what the two of you do together because it means this whole thing will come to a close.  It’s about damn time, anyhow, you boys are exhausting.”

His mouth opened in quiet shock as Connor grinned down at him with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes.  Ruffling Will’s hair, he tipped an invisible hat as he began to slowly back away.  “You have a good night, Will.  And thanks for the interesting turn of events.  I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.”

Turning back to his food, he stared at it for a moment with an unseeing gaze.  Everything that had happened to him since that fateful night swirled through his mind like a slideshow of sights and sounds.  How in the world had it come to this?  What was there left to do now?

Will rose to his feet then, leaving his mostly uneaten dinner on the table, and stumbled back to the infirmary with a heavy weight bearing down on his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short again, or at least I'm pretty damn sure it's shorter than I normally post...  
> Once again, I hurried up and got something out to those that really wanted an update.  
> I apologize for my lengthy absence, I didn't quite forget about this one so much as I put it off for other, higher demand fics and a couple new fandoms and ideas that came to mind like an insatiable itch that needed a desperate scratch.  
> I even have like 5 things partially typed up in word files that I've yet to post, because why not add to the load?  
> ^^
> 
> I'm a mess, forgive me!  
> I might have decided to speed this baby up just so I can finish it and remove one more thing from a long list of unfinished works. Apologies again if this isn't as satisfying as you'd hoped, I'm running out of steam and this damn thing is almost an entire year old now. Remember back when I started and finished a fic in two weeks? :3
> 
> Don't ever hesitate to pester me until the cows come home!  
> To be honest, I wouldn't have updated this if it weren't for the two random comments that I got back to back asking for an update. I need that kind of motivation in my life or I'll stray from the path and get lost in the binge-watching anime world I so desperately love and abhor. (yes, probably in equal amounts as I am both ashamed and enthralled.)
> 
> Hit me up on Tumblr if you're into that stuff. I'd post sneak peeks of all my fics if more people were interested in that kind of thing - Cherrypie62666


	9. I miss you when you're gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be posted like the day after the last chapter?  
> Oops...

Cecil

Cecil sighed as he sat next to the daughter of Aphrodite at the fire, eyes flicking about the group of gathered campers, searching for the green gaze he missed most. It had been nearly five full days since he’d seen more than a fleeting glimpse of Lou Ellen, and not that he blamed Drew and her strangely new fascination with sitting next to him every chance she got, but he totally blamed Drew.

The one time he’d found himself alone with Lou long enough to ask why she wasn’t hanging out with him like they normally did, the girl mumbled something hurried about not wanting to step on Drew's toes. Then she raced off out of the dining pavilion without so much as hearing him out on the matter. If she had, he’d have confided in her that he wasn’t quite sure what to do or how to make Drew go away. As it was, everything he attempted only managed to have the exact opposite effect. Girls.

An elbow dug into his ribcage and he glanced over at the culprit, noting the look of barely veiled distress on the girl’s pretty face. The orange glow from the flames on her cheeks made her normally pale skin look like she’d lost a fight with a bottle of self-tanning lotion. He suppressed his urge to laugh at the amusing thought and quirked a brow instead.

“Yeah,” he asked, drawing as much irritation as he could muster into that single word in one last-ditch effort to get her to finally leave him alone.

Dark eyes looked away from him shyly as she tucked a long piece of curly black hair behind her ear. “So, we haven’t really talked about it much since the other day, but I was wondering if you wanted to try again for a successful date. Connor said your cabin just got in a bunch of new DVDs? The Big House has that old television DVD player combo that Chiron uses for the introduction movie, so we could pick one and watch it together. I mean, If you’d like.”

Cecil pursed his lips, silently cursing his stupid brother for his big dumb mouth. No doubt Connor was laughing at his misery these past few days as he struggled with this dilemma. “Uh, sure. I guess we could. But no dumb girly movies. I don’t like that mushy crap,” he mumbled, gazing into the fire as the logs shifted and broke with an audible snap. Little pieces of bright colored soot floated on the breeze and into the inky black night.

“That’s fine with me,” Drew replied in a cheery tone, scooting close enough that their arms lightly touched. “I don’t actually like chick flicks all that much.”

Glancing back at the girl’s smiling face, he frowned. “You don’t?”

“Not really, no. I’m more partial to the horror genre.”

“But, you’re a daughter of Aphrodite,” he replied stupidly as if the girl didn’t already know this.

Drew laughed outright, bumping him gently with her shoulder. “Just because my mother is the love goddess doesn’t mean we’re all a bunch of saps, Cecil. Ask any of my brothers and sisters. I’m sure they’ll agree that a good horror film is a much better date movie than a gooey love story. Aphrodite doesn’t even love sappy endings, she prefers tragic love the best.”

“That’s surprisingly twisted,” he quipped, feeling a small smile beginning to curl his mouth. “I like comedies the best, but a good gore fest is never unwanted. The bloodier, the better.”

“I really enjoy thrillers, myself. Nothing like a good jump scare to set the mood,” she said, dark eyes twinkling in the firelight.

Cecil blinked in surprise, both brows rising so high onto his forehead it was probably comical to witness. “How would a jump scare set the mood,” he asked, allowing his curiosity to get the better of him. He probably shouldn’t be feeding the flames, so to speak, but it was perhaps the first conversation the two of them had that wasn’t boring him half to death.

Tilting her head to the side, Drew regarded him like he was insane. “You know, because the adrenaline makes your heart race and you can’t help but snuggle up to the person next to you to calm yourself down?”

“Sounds dangerous, like someone is going to wind up with a black eye from an accidental elbow to the face,” he responded skeptically.

Biting her bottom lip to stifle a laugh, the girl shook her head. “You’re actually kind of hilarious,” she admitted with an oddly endearing look.

Cecil scowled inwardly once more as he turned away from her with a casual shrug. “Yeah, I know,” he replied coolly, hoping to irritate the girl by brushing off her remark.

Drew hummed in amusement, dropping her head onto his shoulder gently as the scent of nutmeg and pine wafted up to tickle his nose. “So, how does tomorrow night work for you? I know it’s a Sunday, so we’ll all have to rise and shine bright and early the following morning, but I figured if we went straight after dinner it shouldn’t keep us up too late.”

“Sure. I’ll grab a few choices to pick from.”  _And drop Connor into the lake for planting this idea in your head_ , he thought bitterly, losing himself soon thereafter to the chorus of voices that steadily filled the quiet darkness as the campers happily sang their favorite late-night songs.

* * *

 

“This is all your fault,” he seethed, poking an accusing finger into his brother’s chest that following evening. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if you didn’t blab to Drew about the new movies we just got.”

Connor quirked a brow at him in response, blue eyes twinkling with delight. “What’s that? You only have yourself to blame for not just turning the girl down like a proper gentleman would and accepting the consequences?”

“You know I can’t do that! Drew will definitely kill me if she finds out everything was just a stupid dare. If Will wasn’t already visibly squirming every day while Nico blatantly flirts with him in front of half the camp, I’d probably prank him so horribly he’d never dare another person for the rest of his miserable life.”

“So, you’re just going to go along with all of this until?”

Cecil blew a long and breathy sigh straight up into his sweaty hairline, which did little more than ruffle and further mess up his fringe. “Until I can convince her to leave me alone by being the most horrible date in existence?”

Connor cracked another smile. “And how is that going for you?”

“Horribly,” he admitted with a slump of the shoulders. “Somehow, no matter what I do, she keeps coming back around to talk and sit next to me. I even insulted her a few times and all she did was look a little putout and oddly forlorn. I honestly don’t understand women.”

“Clearly,” his brother replied with a rumbling laugh, wiping at his eyes for dramatic emphasis. “You’re literally playing hard to get. Girls normally eat that stuff up.”

Cecil stared back at the other with a completely horrified expression on his face. “You mean that girls actually like it when you insult them and junk?”

An image of Drew bossing the other campers around floated through his mind, and he realized with a shocking sort of clarity that it made a lot of sense. Why else were they always so snippety and catty with one another? Not that he quite understood that kind of logic.

 _I don’t think I’ll ever understand the female mind_ , he thought with a good shake of the head.

Connor scratched his cheek in thought, brow furrowing slightly. “I wouldn’t say they exactly like it. More like they try harder to get you to like them, so the more you do it, the harder they try. It is kind of a double edge sword, as it were. Too much and they tend to give it up as a hopeless cause.”

“So, what you’re saying is, I could keep doing it and eventually it’ll work out how I want it to.”

“That’s not-“

Slapping his brother hard on the back, Cecil grabbed the stack of movies he’d picked out and saluted the other boy for good measure. “Alright, thanks for the advice, big bro. Wish me luck, I’ll need it if I hope to make it through everything unscathed.”

“I hope this bites you in the ass,” Connor muttered under his breath.

Cecil grinned in response. “Thanks, I love you, too.” Turning on his heel, he strolled out of the Hermes cabin with fresh enthusiasm and a new spring in his step.

The hot summer sun still sat high in the sky, a gentle sea tinged breeze kicking up around him as he walked down the well-worn path toward the dining pavilion. Most of the campers were following suit, but a few small groups still sat back in the shade of large trees, hiding away from the humidity and heat that had already started to dot his skin with a light sheen of salty sweat.

Plopping down onto the nearly empty bench at the Hermes table, his eyes once again reluctantly scanned the group of campers at the Hecate table in the hopes of finding his friend. Lou Ellen was still missing, which would have been a shock if the same thing hadn’t been happening for days on end. It would almost have been weirder if the girl had shown up…

_I guess there's still one more problem I don't quite know how to solve._

Heaving a sigh, he dug into his plate of chicken strips with morose enthusiasm, pulling the food into chunks, and ripping those bits into even smaller pieces, until all that remained was a crumbly gunk better fit for feeding Seymour with than trying to consume himself. Not that he had much of an appetite beforehand, but it was certainly diminishing the longer he continued to play with his food.

A shadow fell over his shoulder, drawing his attention up in surprise, only to have his hopes almost immediately dashed when it wasn’t Lou Ellen.

Drew stood next to him with a nervous smile, dressed in a white tank dress with enormous sunflowers spanning across the fabric, which would have looked utterly ridiculous to him if it didn’t also look decent when contrasted against her milky skin and free-flowing jet-black hair.

For once, her face wasn’t caked in a copious amount of makeup, so he could see the dusting of freckles he’d never noticed beforehand swooping over her nose and cheeks. The brown of her eyes was also different, flecked throughout with hints of amber and gold that normally weren’t as vivid under a truckload of mascara and sparkly blue eyeshadow. Even the faint pink scar that zigzagged along the left side of her chin was a new sight, though it took some restraint not to ask how she’d managed to get the thing. In all, she looked… cute.

“Hi,” she said awkwardly, lacing her arms together behind her back. “Can I sit with you?”

“Knock yourself out,” he replied coolly before turning back to the mess of food still littering his plate.

The girl obliged, taking the spot on his left a bit daintily. This was probably the part where he was supposed to mention the noticeable change in her looks or say something at all about the movie he picked out for the evening. As it stood, he was feeling a little bummed, and the thought of small talk wasn’t helping very much.

A beat of silence stretched between the two of them until she cleared her throat, gesturing toward the horror that was his dinner. “Something on your mind?”

“No,” he lied, and she quirked a perfectly arched brow at him. “Well, maybe a little.”

“Lou Ellen,” she guessed correctly, twirling a ringlet of wavy hair around her index finger.

Cecil grimaced in response; partially because someone like Drew Tanaka, queen of self-absorption, was able to figure him out without really even knowing him at all. “How’d you guess?”

“I have my ways,” she teased, glancing at him sidelong with the hint of a smile on her full lips. After another beat of silence, she hummed quietly. “You two are normally joined at the hip, but for the past few days, I haven’t seen her around. Is she still mad about whatever had her chasing you around the other day?”

“Something like that,” he mumbled, evading the question to the best of his capabilities.

“I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”

“What makes you think it was something that I did?”

“Was it?”

Chuckling softly, he pushed his plate away in disgust. It was less appetizing than a can of cat food at that point, anyhow. “Probably,” he admitted with his typical lopsided grin. Which made him feel a little bit better, though he wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Then I rest my case,” she replied with a warm look, one he’d never expect to see on the girl’s face, at least where he was concerned. Not that it didn’t look good there. She was just far more known for her mocking smiles and a certain haughty coldness that would probably make milk curdle if she were to stare at it long enough.

“Ready to go,” he asked, collecting the stack of movies and slipping from the bench.

Drew followed suit, hooking her arm through his and offering up another little smile. “Sure, lead the way.

By the time the movie was finally over, the sun had made its way behind the hills, painting the evening sky in streaks of gold and pink. It hadn’t been so bad sitting next to the girl on the overstuffed couch for nearly two straight hours, and though she’d picked something with an abundance of jumpy moments littered throughout the film, never once did she try to cling to him like a scared child. In all, it was almost an enjoyable experience.

Stretching long arms high above her head, Drew turned to him with a huge grin. “That was such a good movie. You’ll have to let me borrow it sometime, so I can show my siblings. I bet most of them would get a kick out of it.”

“I’m still surprised a girl like you didn’t scream one time during the whole thing. That part where the guy burst through the window while the girl was walking through the hall with the phone clutched to her chest nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Drew laughed quietly, a not so unpleasant sound. “I’ve seen far too many thrillers to be surprised by something like that. You can practically tell something bad is going to happen by the way everything grows eerily quiet and suspenseful.”

Stopping at the bottom of the Big House’s steps, he turned to the girl still up on the porch with a crooked smile. “Well, I should probably head back to my cabin now. Connor will have an aneurysm if I don’t promptly return the movies I’ve borrowed. He gets weird about things like that.”

Tucking a curl behind her ear, she nodded. “Alright. I had a good time, Cecil. Thanks for agreeing to hang out with me.”

“Me too, thanks for asking.”

After he’d said it, he realized it was true. Hanging out with Drew wasn’t as horrible as he’d first thought it would be. She was actually pretty cool, as far as girls went. Once you got past that prissy girly girl stuff and her obsession with talking about herself, that is.

Brown eyes gazed down at him expectantly, flicking back and forth over his blue ones for a moment before they traveled off over his head somewhere. A strange look spasmed on her face, part surprise and something else. Taking a sudden step closer, she dipped down and planted a feather-light peck on the place between his mouth and cheek, pulling back almost instantly as a pink flush burned her skin.

“Uhm,” he said stupidly in response, wondering both at the oddness of the situation and the strange placement of the kiss. “Thanks?” He wasn’t an expert on the subject, but something told him people didn’t usually mess up that terribly when they tried to kiss someone else. Unless that was why she seemed embarrassed. It was pretty embarrassing to mess up that badly.

“You’ll thank me for real later,” she whispered with a tight smile, glancing back over his head as if telling him to have a look.

Confused, he followed her gaze over and nearly dropped the stack of DVDs.

Green eyes blinked rapidly at him from their place a good twenty feet away, looking a little perturbed, before the daughter of Hecate turned on her heel and ran off into the trees with a pained expression on her face.

Spinning back around, he stared at Drew like she’d grown a second, uglier head. “Why would I thank you for something like that,” he asked in a clipped tone, biting back the anger that seemed to wash over him suddenly like a raging sea. There would be time later for telling the girl off with a few choice adjectives he could imagine off the top of his head. At that moment, he needed to find Lou Ellen and explain that she had the wrong idea.

Drew smiled at him again, if not a little sad. “I’m a child of Aphrodite. I pretty much know when someone is or isn't infatuated with me. You’re not.”

“Then why did you do that to me, it wasn’t even a proper kiss, to begin with. Did you decide to ruin my life because I wouldn’t return your feelings or something,” he asked, waving his arms emphatically. Girls were completely nuts. This proved it. The only one he even bothered to deal with was…

She shook her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her left ear. “No, dummy. It was to see whether or not I was correct in my hunch. You should get going now, let her know how you feel. As a child of Aphrodite, I can also tell when two people would make a good pair.”

Without another word or thought on the matter, he shoved the movies into the girl’s open and waiting hands, racing off in the same direction his friend had gone as quickly as his legs would carry him.

* * *

 

Lou Ellen

Lou Ellen bit back a sob as she ran blindly into the forest, the only thought circulating through her mind that she needed to get away fast before the emotions bubbling up inside of her caused her knees to buckle and her strength to give way. It wouldn’t do to be caught out in the open when something like that happened. Who knows what her powers might do to some innocent bystander if she didn’t get as far from other people as humanly possible.

For days now, she had avoided Cecil like the plague, if only as a means to further avoid the growing unease pooling in her gut. Drew was supposed to laugh at the boy, tease him mercilessly and send him on his way with a carefree shrug and a silly little smirk on his face. She wasn’t supposed to like him, and never in her wildest dreams did Lou expect the girl to kiss him and gaze at him like a blushing bride on her freaking wedding day.

Shaking the images from her brain, she pushed herself to move even faster.

The trees grew thicker the further she made it into the forest, the ground going from flat and grassy to large patches of dry dirt littered with gangly roots that protruding upward and the fallen rotten logs that were perfect for chopping into firewood. Small branches tried to catch her clothing as she passed them by, tiny shrubs with prickling thorns scraping at her exposed ankles as she dodged through the foliage like a frightened rabbit.

Her foot caught the end of something hard hidden in a cluster of fallen leaves and she tumbled down with a cry of surprise, falling hard onto her left side. White-hot agony shot its way through her wrist, spasming down into the tips of her fingers. Rolling onto her back, she clutched the thing to her chest. Silent tears of pain and sadness leaked from her eyes in little drops as the pink sky swirled above her through the dense canopy of endless green.

A terrible sound echoed in her ears, and it took a moment to realize it was the odd melody of her ragged breath mixed with the chaotic thundering of her heart pumping blood through her veins. Running wasn’t exactly her forte. Never before had she run so hard and fast that her chest felt like it might explode from the effort. A lump had lodged itself deep in her esophagus, burning hot and unable to be dislodged by swallowing.

Perhaps these distractions were why she didn’t notice the slap of pounding feet approaching her swiftly until the familiar voice called out her name seconds before a worried face swam into view.

Cecil’s blue eyes shimmered with fear as he stared down at her from entirely too close. His freckle dusted cheeks were splotchy red from exertion, covered with a fine sheen of sweat. Frantic hands ran themselves over her limbs, checking her deftly for injuries. “Are you alright,” he finally asked, voice both breathy and thin from chasing her down.

Despite the pain throbbing in her wrist, she cracked a wry smile. “Define alright.”

The boy snorted derisively in response. “Well you clearly didn’t hit your head, or you wouldn’t be capable of making a joke. Can you sit up? I can go get Will or someone if you need immediate attention.”

Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “Just give me a minute, I feel like I’m going to puke if I move too much. I’ll be fine, it’s only my wrist.”

“And your knees,” he mumbled, causing her to crack open one green eye. Flicking his too blue gaze from hers to her legs, he pulled a face. “I mean, they’re only skinned from what I can see but it won’t feel good walking back with them like that. Maybe I should go get someone to come heal you here.”

“You’re going to leave me all alone in the middle of the woods while I’m in pain?”

Cecil scowled so hard she wondered briefly if his stupid face would get stuck like that permanently. “You’re lucky I followed you out here or you’d be ‘alone in the middle of the woods in pain’ until they sent the search parties out to find you.” He used finger quotes and a high falsetto to mimic her, but she was too tired and in too much agony to smack him for it.

“I doubt that,” she sniffed. “I’ll probably be fine to walk back in just a minute or-“ The rest of her sentence was cut off by the feeling of arms slipping underneath her body and the rush of vertigo as she was hauled up without warning, a surge of nausea rolling her already sensitive stomach.

With a huff, the son of Hermes began his trek back through the forest, the arms around her gentle despite the hard and angry look playing out on his face.

After a beat or two of silence, she clucked her tongue. “I am capable of walking.”

“I know.”

“Then put me down now and I’ll do it.”

“No.”

“This is embarrassing, Cecil.”

“Good.”

Heaving a sigh, she flicked her gaze down to her steadily purpling wrist. It probably wasn’t broken. Probably. Two of her fingers were curled down into her scraped palm, while the other three sat in an odd claw-like shape. It would be comical was it not for the horrible sensation pulsing in time with the beat of her heart.

Every time the other so much as shook her around a little, another dagger of misery shot through her whole hand. Which was quite often considering the fact he had to adjust her weight a few times to stop her from slipping. It was probably a miracle that his noodle arms could even hold her up without breaking off, so she bit back the curses that wanted to spill from her lips and instead gritted her teeth to keep from screaming.

After the trees began to thin once more, she glanced back up at him with a grimace. “Sorry for ruining your date or whatever. You can go back and find her when you’re done leaving me in the infirmary.”

At that, the look on Cecil’s face softened exponentially, wary eyes dropping down to hers for a moment before he shook his head. “It was over anyhow.”

“Oh.” After another beat of silence, she pushed on. “So…”

“It wasn’t a kiss, Lou Lou.”

“Then what was it,” she asked in a skeptical tone, staring hard at the slightly amused expression on his face. Did he think her eyes were broken or something? That she didn’t recognize a kiss when she saw one? Not that she was an expert on the subject, but it was pretty clear what had transpired.

Cecil smiled wryly. “I’m pretty sure it was Drew’s way of making things better. Anyway, I don’t think she’s going to be hanging around anymore.”

“That’s too bad,” she replied coolly, hurt by his attempt at a brush off. It didn’t matter. Cecil was stupid and stupid Drew could have him for all she cared. There were plenty of metaphorical fish in the sea.

Quirking a brow, he regarded her with an odd look. “Do you want her to keep hanging around?”

“No.”

“Then it’s not too bad.”

Lou Ellen frowned. “Didn’t you like her?”

“Not a chance,” he said with a snort. “Though, she’s not quite as bad as I originally thought she was. Actually, she’s pretty tolerable, surprisingly. But I wouldn’t want to date the girl. Or any girl, for that matter.” Flicking his gaze back down to her face, he smirked. “Got my hands full just dealing with you.”

“How long were you stewing on that one,” she asked, rolling her eyes despite the smile tugging at her lips.

“Probably since I picked you up,” he replied with his usual lopsided grin. She’d always liked his smile, not that she’d admit it aloud.

“I’m surprised your noodle arms haven’t dropped me yet,” Lou countered instead, falling easily back into their typical playful banter. It was nice, and she had to resist the urge to close her eyes and snuggle against his chest.

Cecil gasped in mock offense. “I would never drop a damsel in distress. What sort of demigod would I be if I did?”

“Alright, Wonder Boy.”

As they broke through the lining of trees, the sounds of the other campers floated up all around. Someone must have seen the two of them and notified the healers because a moment later Austin was running up to them with a tackle box full of medical supplies and a concerned look on his face.

Cecil set her down in the grass and she had to fight back another string of expletives as both her wrist and knees throbbed horribly. No more runs in the woods. Or running in general, if it could be helped.

“Eat this,” the son of Apollo demanded as he shoved a piece of ambrosia into her mouth without the assurance his hands were recently washed. Despite the urge to scowl at being manhandled, the pain subsided almost instantly, and a wave of fatigue washed over her.

“Why didn’t you wait until we got to the infirmary to treat me,” she asked with a yawn, wincing slightly as something awful that burned like liquid fire was dabbed onto her scrapes. Clearly, there were more than she’d previously thought as by the end of it, the majority of both her legs felt blistered.

Austin chuckled to himself as he took her arm and began to wrap it tightly. “When I heard who was injured I figured I’d spare you further pain from having to listen to Will gripe about Nico some more.”

Cecil plopped down on the spot beside her, leaning back onto his hands. “That’s right, today is the last day for his part of the bet. How’s that going for him?”

“Terribly,” Austin said with a smirk. “Despite the fact they’ve had a few ‘close calls’, Nico is clearly only playing with him. Probably why he spent the better part of today laying on one of the cots staring up at the ceiling with a pained expression.”

“That’s actually pretty sad,” Cecil remarked with a forlorn look, though his tone betrayed his amusement. “And here I was rooting for him.”

“The only thing you’re rooting for is his misery and failure, you big liar,” Lou sighed, smiling gratefully at Austin when he returned her hand back mummified. It still looked a little claw-like, but now it was a cool claw. Perhaps if she was feeling better later she could bend the mist so everyone thought a real mummy was loose in the camp.

Cecil blinked his eyes rapidly as if that would somehow portray innocence. “I would never wish that for-“

“Want to go watch as the final moments count down and he falls even deeper into despair,” she asked, cutting him off with an evil grin. “My money is on Nico showing up to make it even more agonizing for him.”

“It’s like you know me or something,” Cecil cooed as he jumped to his feet, swooping her up once more and carrying her off to the infirmary with a wicked smile.

She’d protest some more, but it was undeniably nice to be fawned over. If only for the evening, she’d set aside her pride and allow the big doofus to take care of her. Come the following day, and every day after for the foreseeable future, she might just have to throttle him for trying. After all, there was still plenty of time to work their way up to something larger.

Partners in crime had a much better ring to it than boyfriend and girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the Lou/Cecil update with absolutely nothing to do with the main reason everyone probably reads this fic........  
> This was a long one, mostly because I wanted to finish that damned 'chapter' and move back to finally focusing on Nico and Will again.  
> Not solely, probably, but I'm sure it is the largely preferred POV.  
> I feel bad for Drew. I can't help it. I'm gonna give her a good ending as well. Later...
> 
> So, aside from the massive edits that added/changed the finer details in this long chapter, I didn't really write all that much aside from the last 7 lines. Yes, I allow things to sit nearly finished in word documents for weeks without looking at them... doesn't every writer?  
> ...Which might just mean I hurry up and write my Nico POV that is going to pick up in about a week because now I feel like a jerk for putting off yet another update due to laziness. Sigh.  
> Poor Will. I shouldn't have done that to him but I can't stop needlessly tormenting everyone because I'm lowkey evil. ^^
> 
> Hit me up on Tumblr - Cherrypie62666  
> And thank you for your patience. ^^


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